Beast of Burden
by Nikolai Petirosky
Summary: Many a Queer beast roam the lands, and we shall delve into this one's tale. Come on in, grab some Cocoa, get cozy by the fire, and get comfy, because this is gonna be one beast of a story... And we are done, my friends. The next tale has begun, The World Ablaze.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Welcome, welcome, one and all! I'd bore you with the usual, "hey i don't own this and such" but that is obvious. I will, however, suggest you go and read Twitch, by Schrodinger's Zombie, who inspired me to actually write again. I do have two previous stories which i wrote...two years or so ago, they are horrible, don't touch them. The updates on this may go fast, depends on if I'm inspired. You can assist by reviewing and giving me a honest opinion. I won't ask for a follow or favorite that's up to you, dear reader. If you wish to see more, please, by all means! it will update quite a lot.

AN: Stupid line breaks didn't work, i made a edit.

The Beast of Burden: Chapter 1: The Day in the Life of a Beast

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

It awoke, the sound becoming unbearable. it rose from its bed, a clump of clothing it had taken here and there, snatching the warm clothing from clotheslines and other places, and slowly lumbered into the back of the cave as it slowly awakens from the stupor of sleep. it Stops, methodically looking about, and listens.

Drip.

Drip.

It snarled at the sound and looked for the source, it's eyes adjusting to the darkness. It spots a leak on the ceiling, a small crack that probably led to some source of water. Said crack was the beast's greatest foe.

Drip.

Drip.

Rising to it's hind legs, it paws at the leak, in a vain attempt to stop the maddening sound. After that did not work, It looked about, and saw a pointy rock sticking from the floor. Using it's massive strength, using it's hairy claws to grip it, It wrenches the rock loose with a loud snap. After eyeing the makeshift plug, it roughly shoves it into the crack, and becomes still.

...

...

It's face took a parody of a smile as it returned to all fours and turned around. It wanted to see the things that it saw when it closed it eyes, the times when it had been smooth and the world had not been changed. But that was many moons ago, and it was very old. As it lay it's head down and begun to slumber, a crack of rock on rock startled it.  
Drip Drip.  
Drip Drip.  
Drip Drip.

It glared into the darkness, and huffed loudly, like a annoyed child. It knew it was not going to sleep tonight.

* * *

It eyed the beast, a massive buck which had been grazing on the grass. It smiled to itself, it wasn't one of those creatures that smelt so sweet and hurt it's stomach for days. With a grimace, it decided to never eat one of those again. With surprising speed for a beast so large, it launches itself at the Buck, Grasping it's neck with It's mighty grip.

SNAP!

The Buck goes still and it smiles.  
Tonight he can eat.

* * *

-It pawed through the wreckage, an old automobile from centuries past, and rummaged about. It spots it's prize, a small piece of metal with a hatch on top. Now It can make the hot stuff that makes things yummy.

* * *

It gathers wood and places it into a pile, and begins to toy with the small lighter. It flicks it slowly, patiently.

Flick.

Flick.

Flick.

With a light hiss, the hot stuff formed. It grinned in delight, its massive teeth shining. With much care, It slowly starts the fire, watching it grow. It looks to it's meal, the now skinned buck, minced into slices of bloodied meat. It grabs a study stick and shish-ka-bobs the meat onto it. it carefully cooks the meat, making sure the hot stuff doesn't turn the meal black, or catching it's fur ablaze. It still has a patch a fur missing because of that, and would not like to repeat the event.

* * *

It strokes it's own belly, satisfied. It lays back, staring into the sky with a grin on it's face. It decides it needs a new cave. It remembers that a thing that is dead but not lives near, in a massive cave. It grins lazily and decides tommorow it will take the cave. Maybe it won't have any noisy things. and something fluffy to sleep on.  
It misses it's days when it's wife was alive. As it falls asleep, the beast's mind drifts to the though of her lovely smile and beautiful eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: And lucky you (if you like this story, if not, unlucky you.) i am posting chapter two right after chapter one. If anyone reviews (which i find unlikely, because i have little confidence in myself) i will address it in the next chapter i post. Honestly, I'm probably going to do chapter three after this, so...meh.

The Beast of Burden: Chapter 2: The Damsel

It awoke, the sun shining in the beasts face. The sun hurt it's eyes, and judging by the position, it was mid-day. With a annoyed grunt, It peeled itself from the ground, giving out a human like groan. It Looked about slowly, stretching it's tired limbs. What was i doing, thought the large beast, dazed.

Drip.

Drip.

It snarled loudly, glaring at the source of the sound, a small pool of water leaking onto the remains of a stroller. As It was about to rip the debris apart, A scream rung out.

"Ice King! Let go of me this instant!" Cried a voice from nearby, in obvious distress.

The Beast snarled, the deeper parts of it's mind registering that they were speaking "english" from the days before the boom.

"Now, now, Princess Bubblegum, Calm down! I'm only going to marry you and have you babysit Gunter once in a while, not throw you into a pool of acid. And if you have to be imprisoned for a few years so that you recognize that we are meant to be, so be it. We can make Hot cocoa!"

It Peered over the wreckage to see one of those odd sweet things that made his tummy grumble over the shoulder of some cold thing with a pointy nose and a shiny crown. It inhaled and frowned, the blue thing smelled like him before he became what he was, but not.

"You Butt! let go! Finn and Jake are not going to stand for this!"

Slowly creeping up on them as the cold one walked. the candy thing saw the beast creeping up, and begun to scream and kick even harder.  
"Don't blow out your Lungs, princess, Gunter ate the last set i had been saving for my lunch. Stupid bird didn't even cook it, just swallowed them whole. He is going to regret that one later. Now relax, or else-"

The Ice king suddenly found himself several feet in the air, and something furry wrapped around his neck, squeezing. The frozen monarch began kicking and wiggling, not unlike the candy princess a few moments earlier, excluding the girlish shriek coming from him, as Bubblegum fell off his shoulder.

It Snarled, preparing to snap the things neck, when its hand suddenly became very cold. Looking down in shock, it realized its paw was covered in the cold stuff that he avoided because it made him slip around. Howling, it smashed the cold one into the ground, freeing it's arm from the icy prison.

"Eh? What are you? Your not Finn! Your just a dog man! Go away, I'm trying to attract heroes to hang out with, not mutts to give me flea's!" Spoke the cold thing, waving his arm nonchalantly at the large bi-pedal beast.  
The 'mutt' howled and charged the strange creature, to be stopped by a wall of the cold stuff.  
"Aha! Stupid mutt!"  
Undeterred and now upset, Snarling, the beast rammed into the wall, shattering it.  
"Ah! Good mutt, good mutt!" Cried the king, attempting to flee via his magical beard.

It grinned, the thing was fleeing. It loved when they fled. Using it's powerful hind legs, it leaped into the air to rip the thing that smelt old into pieces. Maybe it would keep its robes for it's bed, it thought with a wolfish grin.

"Aha! Nunchucks!" the Ice King said, pulling from his sleeves the wooden weapon that he so loved to cheat with, smacking the beast on the head mid flight. With a cry of pain, it found itself on the ground as the thing flew away. Rubbing it's sore head, it growled, planning on hunting the mean cold thing with the stick things down to rip his throat out. it looked about, to see the candy thing staring at it with worry and fear in her eyes. Why does it look at me like that, i saved it! and why does my paw feel wet? and why is everything spinning? And why-

THUMP!


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Chapter three, lets see what i can do. I'm afraid my conversation parts of the story are kind of...well shit. So i hope to improve them. As well, the blasted lines to point of a switch of view or scene did not transfer over. Oh yeah, please review, it would help for any feedback, and makes me feel like someone is actually enjoying my work.

The Beast of Burden: Chapter 3: Beauty and the Beast

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

With a snarl, the beast awoke, glaring at the sound. Why must i always wake up to that sound!?, it thought mournfully, rubbing the sore spot on its skull. Looking about, it realized the location he was in was the cave he had sought to abandon. From the sound of rain falling, he realized it was storming. It felt himself become sad and happy at the same time, memories of days with his wife, dancing in the rain and shivering under a blanket. It missed those days. Shaking it's massive head, it pondered how it ended up back here in this horrid little cave.

With a sudden start, he realized that he wasn't alone. The pink creature was in the cave, who must have dragged the beast in, explaining the reason it's back was aching. The thing was examining it's bed, rummaging through the clothing. It (she? The beast questioned to itself) had picked up a white thing that had little bear ears. it remembered stealing it from a strange home built in a tree, smelling something that reminded it of humanity, which had caused him to sneak in and snatch something before fleeing. It gave out a growl, directed towards the hat thief. causing her to jump and look at the beast. As the thing slowly places down the precious hat, his growling subsides. It wasn't giving the hat up to a tummy hurter.

She slowly approaches it, and the lack of fear in his eyes upset the beast. It (he, he remembered, was his gender title) didn't like that. She should fear him! He was a mighty beast! He rose onto his hing legs, to intimidate her with his size, but quickly he found the ground suddenly plummeting towards him.

* * *

After removing himself from the floor, he layed back against a wall and stared at the strange creature. It mocked what humanity use to be, and that left him with a pang of a strange emotion that left his chest feeling funny. The thing had a small device in it's hands, a small grey box with a shiny tube sticking out of the top. It could see something red inside the tube, which looked like the stuff that had coated his hand. The device beeps, and she seems to become startled. Looking over, it coyly approached and opened her mouth.

"Hello" the creature spoke, startling him out of thoughts.

"..." it nodded it's head, as it tried to remember how to speak.

"My name is Princess Bonnibell Bubblegum. Do you have a name?" she spoke, sitting down in front of the massive beast.

With a frown, causing the odd beast to take a look of deep thought. He lost himself in thought, emmories of days before he was furry coming to him.. What was his name...he had not spoke it in a long time...what was it? It had a Ni sound. Ni...Nik...Nikolai! His name had been Nikolai. He smiled, revealing his massive canine and made a low, guttural sound.

"What did you say?" she said, getting closer to the massive beasts lips.

"Ni...ko...lai." He managed to grunt out, the feeling of using his vocal cords a queer feeling.

Princess bubblegum smiles and pats his head slowly, making him glare and growl. Just because he had spoken did not mean he was going to let this candy thing mock him, As he rose, he angrily thought. He was still a mighty beast, he could-

The thought was cut off by a splitting headache that caused him to wince and snarl, gripping his skull and lowering himself to the floor.

"Oh you poor thing! You seem to have suffered head trauma from the Ice king. That butt! . You need to rest and move as little as possible, and it should subside."

Drip.

Drip.

Nikolai snarled, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to sleep here. He glared into the dark depths of the cave with a snarl and slowly rose, leaning heavily on the wall to support his weight.

"I said no moving!" Bubblegum commanded, trying to force the beast back down, to no avail.

Pushing her aside, he slowly walked over to the bed and with methodical movements, picked up the hat, and then walked slowly into the rain, letting it pour down on him to clean the bloodied fur. He felt nice with it streaming down his body, making the headache seem unimportant. He fondly remembered a time when him and his wife (what was a wife?) getting stuck in the rain because he had lost the keys to their home. He shook his head and ignored the memories, understanding little of what he thought. The strange princess watched him from the safety of his now abandoned cave, frowning as he slowly walked away, onto finding a new place to sleep.

The princess watched the strange beast wander off with a frown, and she clutched the device. If the beast had looked, and still understood english, it would have read "D.N.A Test complete: 80% Homo Sapien, 20% Lupus."

A light ringtone went off, and she slipped her hand into her pocket sown onto the dress, to pull out a refurbished cell phone from a previous era.

"Hello? Calm down, I'm fine Finn. I was saved by...something. I don't know what. I'm right nearby, in a cave. I can see the grasslands from here. Let me give you directions" She told him her whereabouts while frowning. Something told her that beast wasn't mutated in the same way the citizens of Ooo had.


	4. Chapter 4

An: Chapter 4, hooray! I probably should slow down, 4 chapters within 24 hours and all that. But i have the writing bug, i suppose. Feel free to leave a review, in fact, i insist you do. Non-writers don't understand how nerve wracking it is when no one reviews your story. You feel like your doing something wrong.

The Beast of Burden: Chapter 4: Fond Memories of a Day Now Lost 

Sniffling, Nikolai sauntered away from the sweet smelling thing that called itself Princess. He wondered if that meant she was important somehow.

Approaching his destination, the cave he had planned to take, with it's blissful silence and lack of strange princess tummy hurters, he slowly crept into the darkened cave, sniffing slowly. He smelled strange things. Death, Smooth people, the little hims that became big when they needed too, and the scent of that pink thing again.

As he crept around the edge of the lightly lit cave, making sure to blend with the shadow's. he saw a strange site. A building. It looked out of place, a pleasant pink not unlike the princess tummy hurter, and seemed to be from before the boom. The walls showed age, with peeling paint here and there. Nikolai sniffed, but smelt nothing implicating anything was nearby. He became excited, maybe they left! and Nikolai can take the house! Nikolai became almost ecstatic, the thought of sleeping under a roof driving his face into a toothy grin.

Approaching the door, Nikolai pondered how to open the strange portal. Pawing the handle, he saw that it turned. He grinned, pleased with how smart he was. He deserved this house, he decided. He deserved to not have to deal with the noises and the angry things that wore shiny skin and swung their sharp sticks at him! He gripped the handle and slowly turned it, before pushing it open. I'm so smart! Nikolai grinned even wider, the look he now sported giving him a almost comical look, like if a clown was genetically hybrid into a...well him.

Looking about the room, he saw the strange area devoid of life. Spotting the couch, Nikolai recalled when he use to sleep on one like that, before a shiny man cut it in half trying to kill poor Nikolai. Leaping onto the sofa, Deciding to nap on it.

* * *

Limping into the kitchen, he snarled at the tricky couch that felt like rocks. Looking about, he saw the various cooking apparatus and fridge. His brow clenched in frustration as it tried to recall what they all did. Giving out a sigh of defeat, it gave up. It decided the room was unimportant, and left, deciding to explore the top floor.

Reaching the top, Nikolai discovered a room that smelt thick of the princess and thing that smelt alive but not. He sniffed about, smelling it on the bed. Did those things sleep on this? It is fluffy and warm... he pondered the thought, curious. Grunting to himself, he approached the other point of interest, the ancient recording machine. Standing on his sore hind legs, he stared at the device. Nikolai became distressed as he tried to remember what this did. He saw the various buttons and felt a wave of clairvoyance. Press the buttons! he thought happily as he pressed a single clawed finger onto one. Giving him a start, the device began to play sounds. Listening intently, He could hear a strange strumming sound and someones singing, but it seems it had been half played already.

-on't you look at me again  
Like you did before?  
You look right past me,  
I just want more!

I just want us to be together  
Even as friends

I'm sorry if i'm a fool

I'm sorry...

The sounds abruptly stop, and Nikolai briefly hears a light sob before a loud click. Frowning, Nikolai wonders why the girl was sad. He didn't like sad girls. He liked it when people were happy. Except the tummy hurters, he thought with a scowl. They can all be crushed by that mean tricky couch.

Turning around, he smelt the bed again. With a great deal of care, it tested the bed. Deciding it wasn't like the mean tricky couch, Nikolai happily began curling into the bed, He gives out a sigh in content. Drifting off into sleep, he wonders if the voice was talking about the strange tummy hurter that he could smell everywhere.

* * *

Several hours later, Nikolai began to stretch and sniffle, his body feeling much better since the last time he slept. Slowly opening his eyes, he began to think. Why would anyone ever leave this place? Did the couch scare them? I should claw it apart. Maybe they will come back and we can be friends. I'll share the fluffy thing with them. Whats that floaty thing? why is it looking at me?  
A few moments after that thought, the realization that he wasn't alone dawned on him. Oh no oh no oh no oh no, he thought in a panic. maybe if i stay still it'll go away! Freezing in place, he slowly glanced over, eyeing the floating figure. The...thing wore clothing that looked from before the boom, and had a large mane of black hair. Maybe a cat? I can scare cats. They hiss and run away when i bark. he thought hopefully. But dismissed the idea, realizing that thing looked like the smooth ones, but not. the smooth ones are pink and black and brown and even pale white, but not grey, he recalled. Staring at it's face for clues, the floaty smooth but not had a small smile on its face, revealing two dangerous looking fangs. Staring into it's eyes, he saw curiousity and amusement in it's eyes, like a cat that had found a mouse. the thing smelt like the bad man in the suit. he didn't want to have to run away again. The suited man had chased him in many forms for many days before he was able to main the man when it got cocky.

The creature he now dubbed as a 'grey' slowly approached and raised its hand towards him. Nikolai eyed it warily as she begun to scratch one of his ears. With much surprise, he found his leg kicking without his say to, and the grey giggled. "What a cute little thing you are" she said, stroking his furry chin, "I wonder what your name is, little puppy?"

Enjoying the feeling a great deal, his mind wandered. Name? he had a name! maybe it would scratch his ear more if he said it! Opening his mouth, he attempted to speak again. "Ni...Ko...Lai"

The grey became startled when he spoke and stopped scratching, looking at him with suprise deep in her (he decided it was a her, from the sound of its voice) obsidian eyes. Did i do something bad? is the scratchy grey mad at me? He whined loudly, looking at her with large puppy eyes. Had he realized that said eyes could get him almost anything he deisred, he would have found himself quite pampered. The scratchy gray emitted a giggle of amusement at the beast. She stroked his ear, and he felt his leg going again.

"My name is Marceline. Would you like to stay here?" Spoke the grey, making him cock his head.

Unable to form the word he wanted, he gave out a bark of agreement. He liked it here. No leaky noises and a fluffy bed. But that mean tricky couch needed to go, he decided in anger. He would shred it and toss it into the hot stuff.

Giggling again, she patted his head and went downstairs, Nikolai in heel. "Lets get something to eat, eh Nikolai? Afterwards, i think we should go have some fun with a certain pink monarch..."


	5. Chapter 5

An: Bugger! It's seven in the morning and i have yet to sleep. Stupid inspiration. This story will be the death of me. On a unrelated note, my name is not Nikolai, before someones asks, though you may call me that if it pleases you. My name is actually kyle, i just needed a good name. And without further complications, let us continue our tale.

The Beast of Burden: Chapter 5: Meeting of two Who Share The Same Smell.

Marceline gave out a small laugh as she watched Nikolai play with her oven, turning the small flame off and on. In his mind, he saw many possibilities, most of them involving the burning of 'the mean tricky couch'. As he played with the various appliances, Marceline began sucking the colour out of some apples she had left in the fridge, and quickly caught the attention of Nikolai. He took one of the apples, and begun handling it, eyeing the now devoid of colour fruit, before sniffing it.

Still smells good...Nikolai thought with confusion. Biting into it, he found himself tasting the apple, which had not changed in any way except colour, it seems. Confused, he looked down on his new friend (Nikolai being much taller then the vampire, to such a degree he rarely stood on his hind legs) and questioningly cocked his head while munching on the delicious fruit.

Marceline gave out a small smile, and meekly explained her vampiric origins. She hoped this wouldn't scare the massive beast, she enjoyed his company. Nikolai eyed her for a moment before giving a toothy grin. Carefully climbing out the window of the kitchen (doors had become his enemy, as he had left many a dents in the frame) he dropped to all fours and ran off, panting like a dog with a bone.

The vampire queen watched in confusion, wondering what Nikolai was doing. She Frowned and decided it would be better to just move on with her night and see what occurs.

* * *

Briefly after that, Marceline was treated to the sound of flesh hitting the cave floor with a loud smack. Peering out the window, she spots Nikolai over the corpse of a very large deer, skinning it with his right hand. (He had dulled and filed the claws on his left so he could do more mundane tasks without leaving scratch marks and holes) After the skinning, he pulled a large glass bottle from next to the deer and begun to squeeze the blood out of the flesh into the bottle, slowly filling it up to the top. The very smell was leaving Marceline in a state of blood lust; she had not had blood in quite some time, as she could never work up the courage to kill innocent animals for blood, and had stuck to her colour devouring. Standing up, Nikolai walked over to the window, and leaning down, handed the increasingly more frisky vampire the bottle, giving off the same toothy grin. Nikolai turned around, partly to cook the meat, and partly because the slurping sounds began to disturb him greatly.

Licking her lips of the crimson substance, she watched Nikolai start a fire and begin cooking the flesh, hungrily watching it. Thanks to her ears which surpassed even the beasts, she could hear The sounds of two sets of feet in the distance.

"I don't know man, I don't think FP would enjoy a pool party." Spoke Finn the Human.

"Why not!? Everyone loves pool parties!" Replied Jake the Dog.

"Mostly because she is the flame princess. Not the Pool Party Princess"

"...Oh yeah."

Chuckling at the sounds of her mortal friends, she watched Nikolai's ears suddenly cock, apparently hearing them both. Looking over at her, he curiously cocked his head, as if to ask if he should be alarmed. Shaking her head, she walked outside and whispered into Nikolai's ear. Nikolai Grinned fiercely, and disappears into the dark edges of the cave.

"Hey! Marcie! We are here for the jam session!" cried out Finn, holding his Balloon that he oh so loved to claim was a instrument.

Marcie began to find herself with a fit of giggles as she watched Nikolai slowly approach them from behind, Attempting to make a 'scary face' by snarling like a angry wolf. Gently tapping Jake's shoulder, he turned to see the lumbering beast staring down at him with teeth resembling ivory daggers.

THUMP!

Much to Jake's chagrin and Finn's surprise, the yellow bulldog fainted on the spot, landing roughly onto the ground. Turning around, Finn quickly saw what had caused the event. He begun to reach for his sword, but suddenly found the lumbering beast on it's knee's, shaking lightly.

Watching the scene, Marceline had been quite amused, up until the point when her new furry friend began to shake. Alarmed, she quickly ran (well, floated) over to Nikolai and shook his shoulders gently. Looking into the beasts face, she could see he wasn't really "there", his eyes looking right through her. Giving him a rough shake, he quickly regained his senses, and stared awe struck at the boy. "Hu...Human!" He cried out, the voice barely able to let out the simple word.

Finn looked at the strange beast, and over to Marceline, who seemed to know the strange attacker. He suddenly found that the beast had begun to lift him up and hug him roughly, squeezing him with such force his ribs began to hurt.

Nikolai's mind was racing. A smooth one! A human! They still exist! His mind was flooded with images and thoughts, and he found himself hugging the strange boy. He thought he was alone, even if he had become a beast. Never did he dream that humans still walked the lands! Maybe he wasn't alone! Maybe this human knew of more! His happiness quickly faded when he realized that the boy had begun to go blue in the face, and he quickly let him go, the boy falling to his knee's coughing.

Nikolai felt worried. Did he make the smooth one mad? Will it strike him? Nikolai deserves to be struck, he thought sadly.

Leaning down, he helped the human up and attempted to speak the one word that came to mind "S...so...sorry."

The hero looked up at the beast, with worry in it's eyes and a massive frown upon it's lips, and smiled. "It's okay. It was just a accident, right?" He watched the beast become relieved quite quickly, smiling with a strange vigor.

"M...More o...of you?" Nikolai attempted to speak, the garbled words becoming easier.

Nikolai felt the anguish again as the smile left the small human's face, a silent frown replacing it. "I haven't seen any." spoke the boy, looking down.

Nikolai understood he had a sore point, and frowned. It then occurred that he seems to have knocked out the boy's companion, the strange stretchy dogs that had once hunted poor Nikolai. He looked over to Marceline and pointed accusingly. "She...to-told me too" he growled out, causing Marceline to look away and give out a nonchalant whistle.

"Marcie! You should know better then to not scare us like that! I might have went all hero on-" It dawned on Finn he did not know the name of this strange creature, and he looked up at him.

"Nikolai." Marceline noted as he spoke his name that he did not stutter, and she found herself a little shocked. The Hound had not said a thing beside his name for the two days he had been here.

"I might have hurt Nikolai!" he cried, the name giving his statement proper meaning.

"Jeez, don't be a butt! It was just a harmless joke!" She defended, feeling a little ashamed at what had happened.

"Well then, miss harmless joke, how do we wake up Jake?" Finn said, giving Marceline a upset look.

Nikolai, however, had decided that he would fix the err of his ways, and had been wafting the stick of venison over the dog's nose. Much to his shock, he watched its mouth snake up and take a large bite out of the cutlets, chewing loudly. "You rang, bro?" spoke the dog in between mouthful's, snatching away the stick from Nikolai and eating the freshly cooked meat.

"See! He's fine!" Marceline cried, trying to take the blame away from herself.

She found, however, that the human boy had also become distracted by the meat, and all three of the boys were sitting around the campfire, munching on the venison. She took that as a good sign, and went inside to prepare the living room for the session.

Finn eyes Nikolai, curious as to why he had reacted the way he did. Nikolai seemed to notice and gently poked the boys chest, then his "S-Same." he gruffly spoke, removing the last cutlet from the stick to devour whole.

Finn became confused, unsure of what the beast meant. "Bro, i think he means he is human. Smells kind of like one, but with more dog." Jake piped up, chewing on the stick for the last tastes of meat. Finn's eyes became wide as he realized that Nikolai and him were the closest thing to family that he ever had. It seems that Nikolai agrees, he pondered, as of the reaction where he nearly squeezed my body like a tube of toothpaste.

"Come on, Finn, lets go jam out. My hands are aching to make some sweet sweet music." Jake stood up and stretched himself through the window, carrying his prized viola, as he loved to call it. Finn laughed at his brother's silly antics and followed, leaving Nikolai curious.

Music? Nikolai remembers music...


	6. Chapter 6

An: Chapter six, doing it right after...well, five. Obviously. Its now 8 30, meaning the last chapter took 1 hour and thirty minutes. I really need to sleep. Oh well. I'm also just going to do the chapter name from now on, i find the entire title is annoying.

Ring o' fire

peering into the window, he watched the group begin to play music, and nikolai found himself drawn in, dazing off as he listened.

Oh, you, a-a-a-a-are my best friends in the world.  
You a-a-a-a-are my best friends in the world.

And that's ri-i-i-i-ight I'm talking about the two of you girls.  
And you, Jake,

I wanna sing a song to you and I refuse to make it fake.  
What am I to you?

As they went on, memories began to flow into his mind, and he found his hand twitching for some reason. A thought dawn to him, and the wolfish grin that had started to become his trademark returned to it's rightful place, as it crept in through the back door. Climbing upstairs, it began to search the closet for something it had saw while exploring the house previously, rummaging through various artifacts and garbage, he found his prize; a Gibson guitar. The memories became more vivid, and a song began to ring in his head. He found his hands moving without him, gripping the old wood as his other hand began to strum. Nikolai thought he was going mad, but he didn't care. The strumming began to take a tune, and he kept playing it, the music ringing in his head.

I fell in, to a burning ring of fire!

I went doooooown, but the flames went a higher!

And it burns burns burns,

the ring of fire...

The ring of fire.

With a sudden realization, he noticed that Finn, Jake and Marceline had apparently heard the strumming and had been watching him. Hadn't his face been covered in fur, they would have saw that he was blushing. However, to them, it looked like he was fiercely starting back at them.

"Nikolai, you can play? And well?" Marceline spoke up, destroying the silence with her words.

Nodding coyly, he began to strum again, and Marceline's eyes grew brighter. "Ah! Good old Johnny! Nikolai, how do you know that song? It's older then me!"

"Must be pretty old, cause you are as old as dirt! Aha, burn!" Jake cried out, giggling at his own humour and eliciting a glare and hiss from Marceline.

* * *

He remembers something from a long time ago, when his skin was smooth. He had become smitten with a women, a girl with lovely brown hair and gorgeous eyes. One night, he had crept into her backyard and had begun to play that song, singing along to it. His singing was terrible, sounding like a bat going through a blender, but neither of them cared. From then on, they both found themselves in love with each other.

* * *

Nikolai frowned and shook his head. He looked up towards Marceline and began playing again, and she found her lips moving along with.

Love is a burning thing  
and it makes a firery ring  
bound by wild desire  
I fell in to a ring of fire...

I fell in to a burning ring of fire  
I went down,down,down  
and the flames went higher.  
And it burns,burns,burns  
the ring of fire  
the ring of fire.

The taste of love is sweet  
when hearts like our's meet  
I fell for you like a child  
oh, but the fire went wild..

I fell in to a burning ring of fire...

Nikolai stopped as the song ebbed away, and found his hand aching. Long had he ever strummed a guitar, and it showed. Looking up, he saw that Finn was blushing, and the dog was whispering into his ear. Cocking his ears, he heard 'Dude, that would be prefect! Sing that to flame princess and she'll be all over you like spaghetti on toast!"

Flame princess? Nikolai frowned. The human had a mate? He looked down at the guitar and the smile showed up again, as toothy as ever. Standing onto it's hind legs, he looked at the human boy with much vigor "Nikolai help Finn." he grumbled out.

Marceline found herself holding back a fit of giggles. Boys were so silly. However, as soon as she had broken free of her day dream, she realized that she was alone, the boys long gone. She growled, upset that she left out of something, and stamped (at least in her mind she did, since she floated everywhere) downstairs to eat something red.

* * *

Finn found his face crimson, as he stood outside The Flame Princess's flaming home, with Jake and Nikolai hiding in the bushes, the latter ready to play. He began to strum the chords, which soon awoke the sleeping elemental. Rubbing her eyes, she looked out the window, and Finn began to sing the song, after Jake nudged him with a elongating foot. Trying his very best not to 'look like a butt', he hoped the Princess would be pleased. Quickly, however, he knew it was working, as The princess's cheeks became even redder then normal, and her flames became brighter and larger, as she watched her boyfriend (she freaked out mentally, realizing that she had thought of him as her boyfriend) sing his heart out. After the song ended, Nikolai and Jake sneaked away to allow the couple some private time, Jake mentally reminding himself to get the bandages ready.

* * *

Back at Marceline's house, she pondered if The wolfy man knew any songs about candy.


	7. Chapter 7

An: Well time to write again. To tell you all (all...10 of you who are reading it at the moment) i was feeling iffy about writing today, but a review from InfernoLeo9 made me all antsy again. Seriously, review. You don't even have to say anything nice. Just tell me what you think. If you don't like something, maybe i can fix it. Suggest me a plot for a chapter, sing a song, tell me a good pasta recipe! I don't care, just say something about the story. I'll even make a deal: Give me a review of the story and ask a question with it. Ask anything. I'll personally go and respond to each review. I just want your love T.T

Chapter 7: Booted out

Nikolai whined and rubbed his rear end, after it had been kicked quite roughly, being told that he was slouching about too much at her home and "needed to go do something". He sniffled, stupid vampire just wanted to impress the pink tummy hurter. He had smelled the exotic perfume from downstairs, where he was trying to lay on the floor and sleep. And then the boot was planted right below his tail. Nikolai pondered what to do, as he didn't have the energy to hunt. He did still have his guitar, the vintage Gibson hanging off his back, the thing having not left Nikolai's sight since he found it. Marceline had given it to him as a present, and he became overly proud of it.

* * *

Yawning lazily as he entered the Grass Kingdom, he decided that maybe the boy and dog could amuse poor Nikolai, maybe they would have that strange 'pasta' as well. Approaching the Tree house, he frowned. No one was home, he pouted mentally. Their scents led off in different directions, and he growled. They left to be with their mates as well! Poor Nikolai gave out a mighty huff and wandered away, mentally wondering why everyone suddenly was "getting busy" as Marceline called it.

* * *

As Nikolai wandered, he stumbled across a strange site; a goose peddling wares, rhyming as he spoke. This intrigued him greatly, and he crept up to listen.

"Hello, one and all! Welcome to my ball! Goods of every sort i have, you know these deals you crave! So huddle up and listen well, i have many things to tell!" Cried the goose, attracting various folks, from marauders to goblins, up towards the strange goose. He began showing off various items, from a magical hoe that would make food grow massive, to a sword that could slay dragons. Nikolai frowned. Maybe magic goose had something Nikolai could use! He approached the tent in awe, pushing his way past a small band of goblins who gave him a look of shock. "Ah, hello might beast, i suppose you couldn't resist this feast!" the goose yelled out, pulling a strange gem from the nearby table, and pointing in front of the beastly man. It flashed, and Nikolai found himself face to face with a Large, cooked turkey. Grinning from ear to ear, he devoured the turkey quite happily, suddenly deciding that the magic goose man was his new best friend.

Suddenly, however, Nikolai twitched and rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a large Great sword made of bone. Said blade was being swung by a very large marauder. Nikolai snarled, seeing his meal now splattered against the ground. Stupid blue man made food gone! He thought, his mind losing it's semblance of intelligence quite rapidly. Stupid man must die! He snarled, and with a surprising bout of speed, charged the man and gripped his neck. However, the marauder laughed, his neck surrounded by the metal of his helmet. The grin, which had a certain eating look to it, quickly disappeared as the metal began to creak and his neck gave out a massive snap.

Nikolai snarled, turning around to see many of the man's friends glaring at him. He suddenly got the feeling that approaching the magic goose was a bad idea. However, he found himself seeing the small band of goblins standing behind him, weapons drawn. "Goblins no like this. Beast did not deserve being attacked. Continue with this, and you shall feel the wrath of the goblin might!" The largest individual snarled out, carrying various daggers made of shining steel. The marauders laughed, the stupid goblins thought they could take them! They were strong! "Stupid goblins should go and hide in their holes, like the little babies-" his words were quickly ended by a dagger slipping into his neck, and the dozen or so goblins began their attack on the now several Marauders with surprising ferocity. Nikolai watched for a moment, confused. Strange creatures helped Nikolai? He pondered. He shrugged, and decided thinking was for later. Diving into the bloody brawl, Nikolai decided he would see the blue men to their graves.

* * *

Howling triumphantly, Nikolai and the Goblins stood above the Marauder corpses, giving out various hoots of pleasure. It turned out, much to the surprise of the non goblin's there, that the little creatures were fiercer then appeared, and particularly fond drink, judging on how they raided the marauders for the various silly juices they carried. Nikolai looked over, planning to grab his guitar and play for his new friends, and within an instant lost his good mood. At some point, he judged, the marauders had crushed his prized guitar!

With a snarl, he lifted the now crushed remains with a mournful howl, eliciting curious stares from the Band of Goblins. (or the BOG-gy's as they would love people to know them as) "Do not fear, i can fix this with something quite queer!" cried the goose, having been watching the spectacle from the safety of his tent. Pulling a strange slip of paper, writing on one side that no man in Ooo now knew, he slipped it onto the guitar, sticking to the crushed wood. Tearing a small hole in it, Nikolai became quite startled as the wood smoked purple! He watched in awe as it went from a crushed guitar that reminded him of the dogs 'bacon pancakes' to looking brand new. With a bark of pleasure and awe, he began to strum the the strings, playing a quick song. In his heads, the words to the song danced about, reminding him of a forgotten era:

Deep down Louisiana close to New Orleans  
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens  
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood  
Where lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode  
Who never ever learned to read or write so well  
But he could play the guitar just like a ringing a bell

Go go  
Go Johnny go  
Go  
Go Johnny go  
Go  
Go Johnny go  
Go  
Go Johnny go  
Go  
Johnny B. Goode

He used to carry his guitar in a gunny sack  
Go sit beneath the tree by the railroad track  
Oh, the engineerswould see him sitting in the shade  
Strumming with the rhythm that the drivers made  
People passing by they would stop and say  
Oh my that little country boy could play

Go go  
Go Johnny go  
Go  
Go Johnny go  
Go  
Go Johnny go  
Go  
Go Johnny go  
Go  
Johnny B. Goode

His mother told him "Someday you will be a man,  
And you will be the leader of a big old band.  
Many people coming from miles around  
To hear you play your music when the sun go down  
Maybe someday your name will be in lights  
Saying Johnny B. Goode tonight."

Go go  
Go Johnny go  
Go go go Johnny go  
Go go go Johnny go  
Go go go Johnny go  
Go  
Johnny B. Goode

Much to his and everyone elses amusement, the Boggy's began to dance to the tune, and if you've never seen a Goblin dance, you haven't lived. As the song faded, the goose began to clap. "So good that music was, Free this tag is, just because!" the goose rhymed out, handing Nikolai another tag. Nikolai nodded at the goose and gave out a grumbled "thank you".

Sauntering off after saying his goodbyes to his new friends, he decided to continue exploring the Grasslands. Maybe he could find another magic goose who could give him food! He thought happily, and began sprinting on all fours, enjoying the wind in his face and the sun on his back as he departed from the strange goose and the now (slighty more at least) drunken goblins.

* * *

Coming to a stop, he frowned. The grass suddenly stopped! He frowned, confused. Instead of the lovely grass which caressed his paws, was ice, which did nothing of the sort to Nikolai. He sniffled, and snarled quite angrily. He smelt that stupid blue man. Returning to his galloping, he charged across the ice, intent on finding the blue man.

After a few moments, he came across a mountain of ice, the smell leading up to it. He frowned, the path seemed to obvious. The blue man couldn't have made it that easy...could he? He sniffled, his heading aching with ghost pains from the wooden sticks, and decided something that could out trick Nikolai must be very smart! The path would probably explode, or wooden stick things would hit him again. He opted, instead of the completely un-trap filled path, for running up the steep incline of the mountain. Huffing loudly with each step, he quickly found himself at a window, and glared in. The room seemed empty, except for a chair made of ice, and a small black and white bird, playing with a bottle before smashing it. Nikolai frowned. This bird smelt funny. He would eat the bird! He thought. That would show the stupid blue man! Creeping up through the window and across the floor, Nikolai grinned, his newest meal innocently looking into a glass shard with awe and wonder.

* * *

Whining, and once again rubbing his sore rear, he mumbled to himself, picking glass shards out of himself. Stupid magic bird. He hadn't much idea what happened, but he now found himself sporting many large wounds and glass sticking out of him like a decoration porcupine. Walking back towards Marceline's house, defeated and humiliated, he decided he would say he fought a Ogre. Or a Troll. Or Satan.

An: Please review!


	8. Chapter 8

An: Chapter 8! and for the love of jesus, just review! I know your there! I can see the views! Look, i'll make a deal: if i get ten reviews, i'll double release a chapter on Nikolai's origins. Just review. Tell me what you like and dislike. If you can't find anything you like or hate, i don't even care. Just review! Ten and you get a action packed double release. So...thirteen i guess, I have three reviews right now...Anyway, heres Nikolai Getting Kidnapped and meeting a hobo. Oh, the hobo belongs to a fellow by the name of Killjoe, amazing writer. Go check out his stuff at:

u/4182390/Killjoe

Without further ado, i bring you...

Chapter 8: Bad Juju

"Let Nikolai OUT!" cried the wolf man, pounding on the door with enough force to dent the heavy metal. Alas, the door wouldn't budge. Huffing, he slunk down to the cobblestone floor and sighed. He hated being locked up. It reminded him of the bad times.

Eyeing the door with a glare that would send a Troll running, he tried to figure out what had occurred. He had been feasting on a Boar that had attempted to gore him with it's tusks, when he felt a sharp pain in his neck. Turning towards the source, he saw a strange man in a black cloak, holding a strange contraption. The last thought before passing out was that the man did not seem to have feet, floating slightly above the ground.

When he awoke, he found himself chained to the wall. Nikolai quickly snapped the weak chains, and had begun is assault on the one thing stopping him from finding the floaty man and snapping his neck. Much to his surprise, he spotted a slip open in the door, and a small tube slip through. Feeling a familiar sharp pain, he snarled before falling into a slumber.

* * *

Waking up again, he felt his hands bound to each other, and heard a strange voice.

"Eh mon, don't be getting any idea's about munching on me!" cried a strange voice with a accent he had never quite heard.

Staring up, he saw a A tall black man with dreads reaching down to his waist, speaks with a heavy Caribbean accent. He has a long, matted beard that stretches down to the mid level of his chest. The strange man wears a number seven jersey with a yellow under shirt and dark blue jeans with sneakers matching the the old world outfit. However, Nikolai's nose revealed much more. The man gave off the odour of a Wizard (a sharp, stale smell that made Nikolai's noise itch) and at the same time smelled like he had fallen into a herb garden.

Huffing, Nikolai stood up and glared at the strange bindings on his wrist, a pale orange in colour. They smelled heavily of magic, Nikolai thought, but ignored any premonitions of danger. Growling, he began to stress the bindings, only to find them getting tighter. Growling, he refused to be defeated by the 'stupid orange bracelets' and tried harder.

"Woah, mon! Those be bad juju, they won't break so easy, mon. You gonna make your hands pop-"

SNAP!

Looking in surprise, he saw the wolf man shaking the remains of the strange bracelets, snarling at the man for doubting him. Eyeing the man, he noticed that the strange hobo had the same things, and a strange collar thing, that glowed a ominous purple. Grabbing the collar, he roughly snapped it off, much to the shock of the man. "Woah! What if dat thing would have blown me head off!" he cried, watching Nikolai snap his cuffs off. Rubbing his wrists, he eyed the door. "Dat ting be mighty tough. I gonna need to break out my secret stash, mon." Reaching into his hair, he pulled several seeds from the locks, and placed them at the door.

Nikolai raised his brow as he watched the smelly hobo mumble and wave his hands at the plants. Nikolai decided the man was mad, and that he may need to eat him if he was stuck here too long. (Thankfully) that would never happened, as the seeds began to sprout, growing thick vines that crept along the door, growing ever larger. They grew into the frame, and began to forcefully push the door straight out of the hinges, before it fell with a resounding thud. Grinning, the strange hobo, claimed the seeds again as the vines withered and shrunk, and placed them back into his dreadlocks. "Dat be the power of good juju, wolf mon." he suddenly realized the 'wolf mon' had already left, snarling and barrelling down the corridor like a enraged bull. The man quickly followed after, reluctant to leave the company of such a powerful (albeit easily upset) ally.

Slamming into a wooden door, Nikolai found it much easier to break, and flew into the room, like a...wolf out of hell. Glaring around the small room, he saw two creatures floating about like the one that had drugged him, and decided he would kill each one, figuring he would get the one who did it eventually. Howling angrily, he watched flames come to life in the palms of their grey hands, tossing them at him in hopes of quelling the enraged beast. Diving to one side, he charged and leaped, clearing the gap quickly and landing on top of one of the cloaked creatures. Stabbing his massive claws into the darkened hood, he heard a sickening squish, and pulled it back to reveal his hand now coated in Black goo. Growling, he lept onto the other and reached for it's neck.

* * *

As The Dreadlocked man ran into the room, he heard a sickening snap as Nikolai sat atop of one of the hooded creatures. Taking his chance, he approached and pulled the hood back, revealing a now 9even more lifeless) vampire, strange runes carved into his face. Frowning, he looked to nikolai. "Dey be Cultists, mon. They think dey can walk in sunlight if they drink the blood of the wolf. Mighty bad juju they trying. I been attempting to find this place when i saw dem grab ya as ya ate. I followed dem, but dey figured out i was tailing and drugged me."

Looking at the strange man, he frowned. The dirty hobo seemed useful, he decided, and he would keep him safe in case they needed more of his "secret stash". Glaring into a dark corridor, he heard the sounds of multiple howls, and he found himself moving that way before he knew it.

"Sounds like dey have more of your kind. You tink dey will be helpful?" He asked hopefully, before realizing the beast couldn't speak. This however, was disproved when Nikolai spoke up.

"They no my kind. Nikolai Unique. But Nikolai no like this." He snarled out, and the wizard looked at the beast man for a moment, a little shocked. "You be russian, mon?"

Nikolai cocked his head, and nodded slightly. He use to be, at least. Sniffling he approached a line of metal doors, the other side a cacophony of howls and whines. Giving out a large bark, the sounds ceased. He motioned to the magic man, and he began opening the doors, a Lever for each door. Moving in a rush, The wizard assisted in the effort, until every door was opened. Looking inside, he realized most of the beasts had been starved, as evident by the lack of meat on their bones. "You all be hungry, ja? Let old Paggy help out." Tossing some seeds to a patch of dirt that had not been covered by the cobble, he began to use his "juju", his hands and eyes taking on a bright green. Quite rapidly, the seeds began to sprout and grow into massive bushels of sweet smelling fruit. "Dig in, boys and gals, dey be ripe and perfect for your hunger, mon!" he cried, the wolves hungrily eating as many as they could fit into their mouths at once.

* * *

Watching the scene, Nikolai felt two things: Anger that these 'cultists' would do something to these beasts, and pleasure, seeing the happiness in the hound-mens eyes as they fed, gorging themselves.

After a few minutes of this, the Werewolves began howling, their spirits (and bellies) full. They barrelled passed Nikolai (but being careful not to bump into the magic food giver) and charged into various halls at random, howls of joy and screams of fear resonating along the poorly lit tunnels. Frowning, Paggy turned to Nikolai. "Dey took my guitar, mon. Would ya help me find it, it means the world and more to this old soul?" He asked, watching the beast cock his head in surprise. "They took Nikolai's as well." He sniffed, attempting to find the scent of his guitar, a lovely wood smell that made him reminiscent. Catching it, he sniffed the ground and followed it, looking less like a Wolf man, and more like a dog who smelt a pesky cat. Chuckling, he followed the mangy Russian, hoping to see his Prized Mertin again.

* * *

After a few minutes of stepping over corpses of shredded vampires, they reached a small room with the words "Gubbins" on it. "What de hell is a gubbins? Some sort of beast, ya think, wolf mon?" he pondered, curious to see what a 'gubbins' was. He imagined something akin to a baby porcupine, and developed a derpy giggle.

Nikolai eyed the strange giggling man, curious if he had broken down completely, and attempted to make him focus. "Nikolai knows this word. Slang for 'stuff' " He said, opening the door to reveal a storeroom full of miscellaneous items. Fairly disappointed at the lack of baby porcupines, he walked in with Nikolai to spot both of their guitars propped against a wall. Snatching them up quickly, they both grinned at the return of their instruments, and made a hasty retreat to the exit.

* * *

Watching Nikolai 'speak' (he used that word loosely, he thought) to a werewolf, he approached Paggy. "They taking place for their pack. They say we are welcome any time, and that they make you honorary pack member." He told the now increasingly confused wizard. "Sounds nice, what does it mean tho, mon?"

"You and your litter are under protection of them, and you get to pick any Female you want." He replied, amused by the ever more confused Paggy.

"Eh mon, i not into that kind of ting. Nice offer, tho." He chuckled, walking with Nikolai as they left the entrance to the strange caves, which came out under a massive cliff. Sniffing, Nikolai smiled. "Nikolai also likes strange wizard. Nikolai offers assistance if you need it." He stated boldly, puffing out his chest a little. Laughing slightly at the antics of the wolf man, he nodded. "Same to you, bruddah. I can make a mighty potion, and a even mightier stew. Names Paggy." He extended his hand, and found it enveloped by the massive claw of Nikolai. "Nikolai." he spoke simply, and they shook hands before departing ways, bound to meet each other in another hilarious situation (albeit less dangerous then this one)


	9. Chapter 9

AN: Hello again, i must say, I'm becoming fond of writing. Now before i continue, i must say, THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH MY VIEWS. From what i can tell, chapter 6 and 7 rise up by 10 views, then 8 dropped back down. That doesn't even make sense. But i'll just ignore it.

Onto other news, still have yet to get the fabled ten reviews. And before you try it, I want ten seperate reviewers. That's not much. Once i do, the Double chapter on Nikolai's origins will be posted.

Onto the reviews of several individuals, Nikolai is in fact, not a Werewolf. This bit gonna get very nerdy, just take my word for it if you don't care, and move on. Quite simply, Werewolves are not even remotely like Nikolai. Werewolves are turned, and react to the moon. Nikolai simply is. He isn't some sort of hybrid werewolf. He has no actual relation to them. He was, before the mushroom war, human. I will give you guys a secret, he was a Doctor, and was born roughly 20 years before WW2. Now, if i got the ten reviews, **cough cough**, you would all learn (most) of what makes Nikolai what he is. Now, i will give a hint. If you think you know it, send me a message. If your right, i'll do any scene you wish within reason, For example, Nikolai In College learning to become a doctor, etc etc. The hint, quite simple is **The Suited Man who is not is the key.** Now, once again, message me. Don't review it. If you get it right, i don't want you spoiling everything.

As for what i found out, i derped so hard i should have been shot. I said Frank Sinatra instead of Johnny cash. I had not been paying attention, writing that chapter at two in the morning. Please forgive my stupidity.

Oh, one other note. Many people who have been assisting me and encouraging my writing have told me multiple times that i should not just post so many chapters, in order to increase views. But i don't wanna. I want you all (even if it is only 10 of you at the moment) to fully enjoy as much as you can. Maybe you can help out by linking my story to a community, or telling your friends. I'd like to continue my mass posting of chapters and over take them. Unlikely, because I find myself average at best.

Now onto the actual bloody story.

Chapter 9: Scary Tummy Hurter

With great haste, Nikolai fled across the sweet rooftops, narrowly dodging various darts filled with ingredients he was sure to not enjoy. Chasing the panicked wolf man, was a peeved looking Princess bubblegum, atop of the massive bird, Morrow. Panting heavily, Nikolai leaped into an alleyway down below, snaking his way through the darkened corridors made of sweet and sugary candy. Turning a corner, he found himself eye to eye with the strange not candy man who called himself peppermint butler. Turning quickly, he attempted to flee from the small hard candied man, fearing for his life. However, he quickly found the Royal highness herself on the other end of the alley, the strange dart gun in hand. Snarling, He glared at the pink creature, who now raised the the strange device. With a simple sound of rushing air, Nikolai Fell into a slumber, cursing that he ever saved the stupid creature.

* * *

Earlier that day...

Snoozing, Nikolai scratched at his wolfish face, dreaming of hunting the bad men and systematically slaughtering them. It made him happy, the grin on his face making him seem more like a pup given a treat then the truth of it all, a angry and very old beast who wished to drive his claws into their necks. However, he found himself awakening to a loud "What!?", coming from the owner of the pleasantly pink home. Cocking his ears, he listened intently.

* * *

"No way Princess, I ain't letting you take Nikolai, and I'm sure as math not helping!" The ever helpful hero cried, finding himself shocked at what she had suggested. He had been told to come by the princess, apparently expecting the human to do as she told. Jake would have been here as well, but both him and Lady Rainacorn were out on some sort of Honeymoon.

"I'm with the goof, Bonni. Nikolai would never attempt that. Big guy would never do that." Marceline spoke out, her tone colder then she usually reserved for the princess (usually used in jest to get her upset, which always had pleased the vampire.) She crossed her arms and gave a withering glare, causing Princess Bubblegum to flinch.

"But it could-"

"No butts! Nikolai is not a test subject, and even more so not a criminal. He even saved you from the Ice King!." Finn shouted, his voice taking a hostility to it that few rarely heard. Finn found himself shocked at what the princess wished to do to Nikolai, and gave a seething glare Even if Nikolai was sort of bonkers, he was still a friend, he thought defensively.

"But he is the only recorded Lycanthrope of that size! Nothing else could be doing this! We must contain him, and attempt to find a cure" Bonnibelle spoke, trying her very best to sound level headed, failing miserably as two of the closest individuals turned against her. Turning to her ever faithful butler, she nodded to him, and the world went black for both of them, the Butler proving he was more dangerous then most thought.

* * *

Hearing some strange chants that he barely could hear, which made Nikolai dizzy and weary, he growled and shook his head. The pink thing betrayed him! It wanted to capture him, why he couldn't figure out, but never the less, she had done something to his precious friends. Snarling, he sniffed, using his extraordinary sense of smell to deduce what to do. He could smell the pink thing, the smell sickening, but whatever stood next to her – small as it seemed- was more dangerous then Nikolai by far. It smelled of many things, none of them he liked. Growling, he decided the best option would to flee and find others to assist. Thinking of the strange Boggy's who had saved his bacon, he decided it would be best to see if the drunken band would be of assistance to the now accused beast. Making great haste, he crashed through the blanketed window and sped off across the grasslands, confident that his speed would be greater then that...thing that bubblegum had with.

* * *

As he neared the Goblin Kingdom (a place that Nikolai had found himself visiting many times when he was bored, The Boggy's were always willing to have a good time, which usually involved bar fights and drunken shenanigans) he became ever aware that as fast as he ran, the Kingdom grew no closer. Snarling, he stopped. Magic, he growled internally, smelling the sharp bitter smell of the energy. Watching with as much of a non-panicked look he could muster, he watched the small candy man and pink creature approach. The princess frowned at him, her eyes showing small amounts of doubt, before opening a small scroll that she had been holding. "By Decree of the Royal Candy Kingdom, Nikolai, you are hereby under arrest for the Assault of several high ranking diplomats, the murder of two others, and the near assault of the Duke of nuts and the Lady of nuts, during the Royal Gala last night." She told the beast, re-curling the scroll, watching Nikolai.

Nikolai snarled angrily, what were diplomats?! Nikolai had been with the strange wizard, who had been trying to teach him more of Juju. Snarling, Nikolai backed up slowly. "Nikolai have no clue what you talk about. Nikolai Innocent. Nikolai was with Paggy." he tried to explain, eyeing the magical barrier that held him from fleeing. His nose twitched, and his mouth began to take the shape of a grin.

* * *

Bubblegum frowned. The beast was almost fluent now, and it seemed to be showing actual signs of true intelligence. Shaking the thought off, she decided it was nothing more then a parlour trick, something Marceline had taught him to do. She soon regretted the dismissal, as the wolf man Leaped directly to his right, and disappeared from sight. This requires further research, she frowned, calling the large falcon as the peppermint man dispelled the barrier.

* * *

Nikolai grinned, panting loudly as he sped up, determined not to be caught by the magic again. Stupid creature underestimated Nikolai. Nikolai had smelt the weak point in the magical barrier, which anywhere else would have cause Nikolai to appear from the other side. Nikolai found himself heading deep through the pink tree filled forest, trying to make sense of what just happened. He was being accused of killing something called a diplomat, and they blamed Nikolai because the attack was by something as big as him. He frowned, cursing his size. Being a great deal larger then a werewolf, he was deemed by many as some sort of boss werewolf, people always attempting to slay him. He wasn't even a werewolf! He growled to himself, dodging a tree. He decided the only answer was that Nikolai would find the culprit and clear his name. Grimacing, he had sorely wished he had back up, as anyone who would assist the poor man was either too far away, or held up by the candy monarch. Grimacing, he pounced over the Candy wall, approaching the Candy castle. He would get his name cleared, or he would die trying, or so he feared.


	10. Chapter 10

An: A chapter a day keeps the doctors away! Chapter ten time.

I do realize it's only been a day, but no one has guessed. Kind of disappointing. You think the chance to make me write a chapter where, say, Nikolai and the Boggy's get drunk and attempt to steal Princess bubblegum's underwear would make people attempt it. Mind you, i may do that one anyway, but still.

To refresh ya, the hint is **The Suited Man is the Key.**

On unrelated notes, I may attempt a second story with a interesting twist. It would (probably) follow nikolai in the earlier years of Ooo, and I'd add a certain interaction between me and you guys. Essentially, each chapter would have a choice at the end. After 3 or more days, I'd tally who wanted what, and the story goes with the most popular option. Feel free to review and message if you want me to attempt it, it may be enjoyable.

One last thing, why is it i only have two follows? I'm not sticking a gun to your head, but i find it odd. There is about 10 readers for the last chapter (which isn't bad, considering the story is about a week old, and i haven't wrote for two years) so that implies either someone has favorited the story and just checks if i've updated (which explains the random amounts of views on some chapters) or i have very few people who are coming back to it. Either way, why not follow the story? It's better then making me scratch my head at a 20 view difference between 6 7 and 8. Now, onto the story!

Chapter 10: Friends in Very Short Places.

Glaring heavily, he eyed the Princess. She was the less dangerous route, her only asset the strange device, which gave the distinct impression that it would hurt, whatever it did. Planning his course, he decided that charging low, and using the princess as a barrier between him and the candy but not thing to flee, making sure that it's queer magic didn't damage poor Nikolai any further, his right arm still numb and not responding.

Tensing his muscles, he prepared to charge, but found himself hearing the Cockney accent of one of his trusted allies. "What do we have ere?" Spoke the voice, a certain familiar goblin that had a passion for drink and daggers.

"Diplomat Grubs? What are you doing here?" the now confused princess spoke, staring at the goblin. She had a feeling that the green lunatic was not here to help capture the stupid beast.

* * *

Jumping from home to home, he made sure that his shaggy body was out of sight of the tummy hurters down below. He quickly made it to the castle, and watched the strange guards lumber about, doing everything but guarding, it seemed. Slipping past two who were busy watching a errant candy rat run about, he jumped through a window, and left the gaze of the moon and the stars.

Sneaking through the little shadows that existed, he found himself in the main dining hall, the corpses still there. He eyed the room, taking it in.

The room had many strange features, from the candy fireplace that gave off pink smoke, to the various chairs made for the diplomats who would sit there. The table had a certain elegance to it, dampened by the large claw marks and the body splayed across it. Sniffing the corpse, he tried to smell any form of wolf.

Frowning, he tried to smell harder, and found no scent. He smelt death, and the various aroma's of the diplomats corpses. This made no sense! Werewolves always left a scent, they never bathed (In all fairness, Nikolai didn't much either, finding himself annoyed that Marceline would "Boot the smelly thing into the river" if he didn't shower.). Inspecting the wounds, he frowned, giving him a air of deep thought. These claws don't match, he thought, his mind trying to come to a conclusion. They were too clean, werewolf claws cut through flesh poorly, leaving jagged edges. The teeth marks were much too large, and not spaced correctly. Whatever did this wasn't a werewolf, or any he had ever seen, he Decided. He looked around, trying to find the answer to the riddle. Looking at the corpse of some sort of nut man, he found a clue ; the thing smelt like decaying flesh. But the creature was obviously not made of flesh, just..nuts.

It dawned on Nikolai quickly. The smell of decay was much too putrid for what the time of death. Whatever had killed them had been dead. He frowned, scratching his chin. What would do this? He wondered, looking about the room once more. He suddenly cocked his head. Why does he smell Peppermint? And why does room spin? Without a further thought, he fell to the floor, unconscious, with Peppermint Butler standing over him.

* * *

Waking up slowly, he found his head pounding and his arms chained to the walls. Groggily opening his eyes, he found himself inside some form of dungeon, his eyes adjusting. He seemed to still be in the Candy Kingdom, he gathered, by the fact that the walls were made of gingerbread, and the bars of Black licorice. From the other end of the bars, stood the always regal Princess Bubblegum. He stared at the girl, very upset and very, VERY mad.

* * *

She watched the beast struggle against the chains, the licorice bindings enchanted by her always helpful butler. Her mind wandered to why the butler had known how to do it, but pushed it away. Her mother had always told her that 'he was very special' and would never budge on that.

Watching the beast, she found herself questioning if it was actually intelligent. It was still attempting to break the bindings, briefly stopping to catch its breath before starting again. After a few minutes of this, Nikolai stared at her, and she began reminding herself that those bars and bindings are unbreakable, feeling the urge to flee the room.

"Nikolai not who did it." He snarled out, causing her to flinch. She decided that the high amount of human D.N.A meant little, and more likely then not his mind was broken, probably not more intelligent then the common wolves that roamed the land (and occasionally, her bedroom, much to her chagrin). it speaking was just a false sign of intelligence, common birds having their own languages. She shuddered, remembering the Gala.

* * *

Smiling to herself, she watched her guests drink and eat, and chat pleasantly to each other. The gala was doing just as she hoped, strengthening the bonds between nations, ensuring that war would not plague the lands of Ooo again. She took a drink, a red wine that had been aged for decades, and drank it slowly, hating the taste of it. However, it made her look more mature, standing next to the diplomats who out aged her by dozens of years.

She watched the diplomats from Fire and water speak gaily about their home countries favored sports, and held back the urge to squeal giddily. It was working! she cried in her head, mentally dancing like a mad man. Peppermint Butler had told her it was a bad idea, saying that he had a bad feeling, but the little candy man was wrong. She would have to remember to tease him about-

With a Great crash, she found herself knocked to the ground, and the party goers giving out screams of fear and surprise. Her eyesight had become blurred (she must have hit her head, she reasoned) and watched as some sort of black furry thing rip it's way through the various diplomats, screams of panic and cries of death being shouted. The creature had begun to rip his way through the diplomat of the nut kingdom, as a small fleet of her guards and Peppermint Butler arrived. Snarling, the beast howled and dived out a window, leaving a very large hole in the window. She struggled to stand up, her mind racing, trying to reason what she saw. That thing was too big and too quick to be a Lycan, the beasts afraid of the noise of any crowded settlements, and it showed enough fear to understand the time to flee. Her mind wandered back to the strange beast that had saved her weeks ago, her mind going blank after falling back to the floor, drifting into a concussion induced slumber.

* * *

She shook her head and regained her thoughts. Maybe she could attempt some form of commmunication, see if she could find any signs of true intelligence, the curious side of her getting the better of the fear to flee.

"Nikolai know what you think. Princess wrong. Nikolai has idea what did it." He snarled out, his eyes never leaving hers.

She stumbled mentally, surprised at the extent of it's speech. She attempted to speak, to retort and gain her footing, but he didn't seem to want to let her.

"Nikolai returned. Why would Nikolai do that? If you think me to be just some beast, who had decided to kill innocents, why would Nikolai return?" he spoke, forcefully removing the usual growl from his voice.

"Nikolai reutrned to find out what happened. Nikolai does not want to be hunted. Nikolai wants to live peacefully."

She blanched, the beast causing her mind to shut down. Everything she had presumed about the beast was being proven wrong.

"Nikolai came, thought you mistook me for werewolves, as everyone does. But Nikolai no smell them. Nikolai smelt only one thing, even where it shouldn't be: Death. Nikolai was framed, someone made meat puppet. Nikolai thinks he knows where it is. Free Nikolai, bring you there. Nikolai no want to hurt you, would make Finn sad."

She looked at the creature, shock on her face. Very rarely was she wrong, and even then it was only to minor degree's. What if the creature was right? Could she have attempted to incarcerate and kill an innocent creature- no, a sentient life. She began to slowly believe the creature, but that quickly faded. The thing was lying, she decided. Another trick, it has to be, she decided. Everything she had gathered said the beast was just that: a beast.

* * *

Nikolai watched the inner battle inside the bubblegum princess, and frowned. He could tell, she would not believe him. He snarled mentally, and hoped that this wouldn't end in bloodshed. He eyed the magical licorice, and under other circumstances he would have happily munched on the treat. Breathing deeply, he closed his eyes and focused.

* * *

The monarch watched the beast, it closing it's eyes and huffing like something out of a fairy tale. She suddenly eeped and backed against the wall, as the beast began to grow. The creature, she decided it wasn't even a lycan, had begun growing, and the licorice snapped loudly under the ever growing beast. She fled the room, her mind racing even faster then before. The only creatures that could morph size were vampires, she thought frantically. That was no vampire, she knew, for it stood in the sun! She fled towards where she presumed Perppermint Butler would be, her feet moving quicker then they had ever moved before.

* * *

Snarling in pain, he focused hard on making the change stop. Slowly, Nikolai ceased growing, now nearly ten feet tall and weighing in more then a bear with a eating problem. Snarling, he swiped at the bars, breaking them easily. He hated doing this, he liked being smaller. Less pain, less anger, less scared looks. Nikolai focused again, reverting the mid-way transformation slowly, shrinking down to his regular size. He sighed, glad he had focused enough to stop it. Had he not, he feared he may cause many more murder then he was accused for. Leaping out the broken bars, he fled, determined to find the thing that had caused this mess

An: Since i'm releasing the next chapter in like, 30 minutes, Review! Your getting double the amount you usually get, you can at least review one of them.


	11. Chapter 11

An: Yup, double chapter! You better review, or i swear, I'll feed you to Nikolai.

Chapter 11: Familiar (Although Not Very Pretty) Faces

At the moment, Grubs Grubbington the fifth (more likely then not, the last name was fake, as he said his last name was 'Largeyouknowwhat the first) wore a black tunic and leggings, tightly fit to give him a more elegant air. This failed, however, with the large gash in the shirt from a errant weapon in some previous fight (which probably had happened on this very day). The goblins face was that of..well, a goblin. He had several scars littering his face, and more then a few teeth missing. Between his green lips was a cigar, made of what the princess couldn't tell. The diplomat had become famous for his lack of discipline, his "Personal Guard" which acted as his loud and smelly entourage, following Grubs wherever he went, and the brawls he got into at the first sign of something he didn't like, or did like, or if the weather was a little too cloudy.

Grinning like a...once again, goblin, he pulled a piece of paper from one of the outfits pockets, his excitement at making the princess flustered very very large. "By order of the great Goblin King, Nikolai the Beast is hereby under the protection of the Goblins, ya see? Further attempts to imprison our hairy friend will lead directly to embargo's and that other lovely stuff. Sorry miss, but ya ain't hunting him no more, lest ya want to see why the goblin's are famous for our brawls...and our loving!" His voice went from a pleasant regal tone that he used to swoon the women, and slowly degraded into the thick British accent as he spoke.

"But he murdered several of our dignitaries! He is a wanted-"

"Do you have any proof? Last time i checked, lots of furry beasts around these lands, and many of em scarier then poor Nikolai here!" the goblin brawler said, his you know what eating grin not leaving his face.

"I saw him! Well, i sort of did" she lamented, finding herself backed into a corner, just like our favourite wolf man was a few moments earlier.

"Sort of? Did he turn into a ghost?" he said, cocking his in a mockery of Nikolai.

"I hit my head and everything went blurry...But i saw him! It was big and black and furry!" She confessed, feeling boxed in by the little creature, trying to defend herself.

"So your saying, that you've decided that the beast who is reported in saving you, removing a vampire cult, saving a kitten from a tree, and just generally being a good kind of guy, is the beast you saw, with blurred eyes, from the description of a 'Big and Black and Furry thing'." he spoke, his words slowly destroying her argument.

"But...but..."she tried to argue, and found that this day simply wasn't a good one, first being out talked by a beast, and then by a goblin. She glared at the goblin, unable to do much of else.

"Now if that's all, I'll be taking my furry friend and leaving. Your lucky we don't stop trading with you'se guys. Is this how you treat everyone, lady? Next are you gonna try and have my lynched on the account that i fit the description of a baby ogre?" he spoke, grabbing Nikolai's arm and walking off with him, smugly smiling.

Nikolai was at a loss for words. His drinking (and fighting) buddy had turned out to be some sort of high ranking politician, and had just saved his fluffy rear. Sniffling, he found himself quite happy that he had made so many friends recently. "Nikolai thank friend." he spoke, trying not to reveal his slightly emotional state.

"No problem, no problem at all! Anything for such a good friend and Knight of the Goblin kingdom!" he spoke in between gulps of some foul brew he had in a canteen. Offering him some, Nikolai accepted it, needing a drink after that endeavour. With a sudden spit take, he looked at the grinning goblin.

"Knight? Nikolai is Knight?" he said, a little shocked to say the least.

"Of course, of course! I convinced the King me self, told him you would make a valuable asset, i did i did! They might call on you once in a while to kill something, but otherwise, it gives you immunity to being accused to crimes. And the ladies love a knight, my furry friend!" he chortled, taking the canteen and swigging the foul brew, staining his teeth purple.

Nikolai found a grin on his lips. He quite liked the sound of "Knight Nikolai". He shook his head, his mind wandering to him in shining metal skin like the knight's he had seen and cocked his head. "How did you know Nikolai in trouble?" he frowned, suddenly curious if the wise talking creature was also telepathic.

"Our scouts saw your scuffle with that weird little peppermint man, and sent me to come free ya! I was just coming to get ya, was grabbing some brew first. Now, shall we wreck house?" he grinned, aiming to get into many brawls today.

"Nikolai can't. Must find creature. It killing in Nikolai's name, and the look Princess gives me makes Nikolai sad." he spoke, frowning even though Grubs had the usual reaction of making him grin (that may just be the drinks he gave him, though)

"Oh yes, oh yes, i forgot to mention. Our scouts also spotted a ' big and black and furry thing' the previous day" he said, doing a poor imitation of the candy princess.

He eyed the goblin, knowing he was gonna make some sort of barter with him. "What you want for info?" he said, knowing he will need to get some of the headache stuff from Paggy.

"Why, a drinking buddy! After the nights done and our fists are bloodied, I'll tell ya where it lives, i will, i will." the happy little diplomat spoke, entering a nearby bar at random.

Giving out a fake reluctant sigh, he followed the Goblin, not so reluctantly thinking that it could wait. Nikolai could use a drink, he decided. Maybe many.


	12. Chapter 12

An: Ah, another one bites the dust, huh? It's barely been a week and I'm already twelve chapters in. I think that's pretty damn good, if you ask me. I hit thirteen reviews (not ten individual reviewers, but fuck it, it's my story, and i want to tell you about Nikolai.) so the special double (now that i think about it, probably triple) will be uploaded in a few days, still have to write it out.

Now, I'm actually curious, did someone share me or something? Because my regular readers seems to have doubled. Which, i admit, makes me happier then a goblin in a bar, but still, i wanna know who to thank.

Now, i usually ask for reviews because I'm a whore for them (if you couldn't tell) but i actually just want this info from you guys, nothing more. Is anyone actually interested in the story idea from last chapter? Seriously, just review or message "yes" or "no" dats it. Although, reviews are nice...

Oh, one last thing, you can also do the same if you want to actually see what Nikolai and Grubs get up to, but for the sake of concluding the plot arc, we'll just skip over to him tracking down the 'meat puppet'.

Now, dear readers, onto the story!

Chapter 12: Worst Mimicry Ever. Of All Time.

Rubbing his aching skull, Nikolai frowned and slowly ate the strange plant Paggy had given him, saying "it be getting worse before it getting better". Whatever the hell that means, he thought, glaring at the ground. Stupid sun, making Nikolai's eyes hurt.

As the pain subsided, he dropped the odd plant into a mound of dirt (as to Paggy's instructions) and shook himself, focusing on the task at hand. He regretted ever listening to Grubs, but at least he knew where he was going ; The Evil forest.

Nikolai dropped to all fours and began to trot at a quick pace, the wind rushing against him, making him grin. He loved to run, and loved even more when his running surprised people. Sadly, no one was around to gape at him, so he let his mind drift back onto the mission.

The Evil Forest had always been a place Nikolai hated to go, full of undead monsters and things that made Nikolai look normal in comparison, like the Sign Zombies. Horrible creatures, Nikolai thought, things had tried to tear him apart, and the end result was many splinters in Nikolai's paws. Sniffling at the memory of trying to remove tiny slivers of wood with massive clawed fingers, he ducked under a large root, entering the evil place.

He always found it odd that in some places that things simply stopped: The Fire Kingdom and Ice Kingdom, for example. The same was for the Evil forest, one moment Nikolai was next to pleasant scenery, the next he was surrounded by tree's that almost seemed to want to attack him. Shuddering at the thought, he continued deeper. His aim was the clearing in the middle of the dark woods, where he presumed he would find the puppeteer that had lead the vile beast into the fray of the Gala. He had heard rumours from the Lycans (his understanding of them came from many years he spent with them, honing himself, before departing, deciding that he had grown stronger then them) that would visit him from time to time, to share info on the latest things and who was doing who, (Lycans are strangely gossipy, not much better then teenagers, and twice as hairy and smelly) told him that they had seen a strange creature enter the forest, skeletons following him like a perverse conga line.

Reaching his destination, he slowly hid in the bushes around the clearing, eyeing it warily. He watched, and took in the area. The clearing was bare of grass, or any life forms, excluding a massive and withered tree, it's branches looking more like skeletal arms then wood. Sitting atop the tree was the creature in question, a strange fellow if Nikolai had ever saw one.

Sniffing, he smelt the smell of a wizard, along with sulphur. Nikolai frowned, sulphur always meant bad magic. (or juju, as Paggy would say) The strange wizard looked human, excluding the massive wings protuding from his back, made of decaying flesh and bone. He found the strange man was wearing what looked to be a Jester's outfit, originally green, it seemed, but now stained red and black from the various monstrosities that he had no doubt created. His face was pale and sickly, devoid of much emotion, it seemed. His eyes were pitch black, no iris in sight.

Nikolai frowned, his mind drifting back to the conversation he had with Paggy earlier in the day

* * *

"Mon, ya shouldn't be drinking so much, yah? Moreover, never drink with a goblin, little tings can drink their own weight." Spoke the old wiseman, watching the beast wince at any small movements.

"Nikolai knows!...now, at least." He lamented, stroking the pounding skull that he wished would stop.

"Nikolai needs help. Nikolai needs to kill Necromancer." He growled out, wishing that the sun would burn out.

"Mon, that be Bad juju! You need to know whatcha be doing, or ya might end up one of their puppets, ya?" he said, sitting down, and stroking his chin.

"Necromancers are those who bring back the dead, ya? They control the dead, use them as tools. Horrible magic, and even worse Juju. They be the opposite of old Paggy. I be a Jujumancer. You might call me a Life Shaman, depending on your origins, and all dat! I use my powers to flourish life, and in turn, it assists me. Thats the difference between us. They control, we help, yah? But old Paggy knows just the trick for ya, my furry friend!" he explained, lifting himself up and searching through various chests and bookshelves.

"No, no, no...dats where i left that! No, no, no, no, Ye-no, don't need ya turning into a cactus, now!" he spoke rapidly, searching high and low, dust flying about from the old books. Pulling a book from the shelf, he smiled. "Here it is, mon!" he cried, opening the dusty tome.

Speaking some strange language, Nikolai watched the Earthen floor come to life, grass and flowers growing rapidly. In the center of the room, grew a strange sight; a green rose. Plucking it gently, he handed it to the large furry man and smiled. "Dis be powerful Juju. Plant it where he resides, and the earth shall be your sword and shield, mon!" he also handed him a strange root, the thing smelling fouler then Grubs after a good year of not bathing. "Eat this, plant it in some dirt when only ting left is da bottom bit. Make ya feel better, it will!" he sang out, causing Nikolai to snarl. He fled the home as he broke out into some song about "one love" or something, clutching his aching skull.

* * *

He plucked the rose from his fur where it had snugly stayed, and looked at it. It seemed the almost give out life, and the smell was intoxicating. and he smiled to himself. Whatever the smelly wizard had given him was going to make this very funny. Planting it gently, he watched the earth give off a pale green glow. Grass began sprouting, and the dead plant life that made the Evil Forest so intimidating rapidly Disappeared, being replaced by wild plant life, the grey and lifeless area now becoming Green and quite lovely to look at. The Necromancer, noticing this, gave out a ungodly shout and leaped off the tree, attempting to stamp the grass away. Nikolai watched as vines grew from the ground, gripping the man, as he screamed for assistance. Coming from the darkness of the rapidly less ugly forest, various undead came lumbering out to save their master. However, the earth seemed intent on making them come back to where they belonged, The vines grabbing them and sucking them deep underground.

Nikolai smiled gleefully, watching the man panic. He enjoyed watching the man who caused this all suffer, and left his hiding place, blood lust in his eyes. The necromancer saw him, and cried out. "Miero needs help, slave! Free me, quickly!" the Necromancer cried, presuming Nikolai to be his Meat Puppet. Nikolai snarled and barked at him, causing Miero to cry out. "Your not him! Where did you put Miero's slave!" He yelled, his leg being pulled deeper still.

Nikolai grinned, and approached ever closer, his claws aching to dig into the horrid man's pale flesh. However, he found himself instinctively leaping to the side, as a furry thing charged at him. Looking away from the annoying mage, he saw what must have been the cause of his problems. Eyeing it, he growled. This thing looked nothing like Nikolai! He snarled, even more upset with the situation.

The meat puppet was roughly Nikolai's height and size, but the similarities ended right there. It's face was stitched together, puss seeping from the poor stitch job. The things eyes weren't even the right beast, one of them seeming to belong to a bear, the other some form of lizard. It's body was no better, stitched together from various different corpses, none of them matching very well.

He snarled at the meat puppet, which returned it with a growl that sounded like a dog going through a blender. He charged the creature, intent on ripping it apart like a present on Christmas day. Quickly closing the gap, he dug his claws directly into it's chest, and attempted to rip them out again for another stab. However, he was alarmed to see his paw stuck, the creature grinning wildly, attempting to bite Nikolai in the throat. He dodged the snap, and growled. He hated doing this, his thoughts becoming errant, as his body once again grew. The beasts mismatched eyes flew open in surprise as the paw stuck inside it's belly grew, slowly forcing the beasts insides apart. Looking up, it saw that Nikolai had become taller and larger, his green eyes being corrupted by red, seeping in from the edges of his pupil. Howling, he ripped his claw from the beasts chest, and pushed it down, roughly stomping onto it's head. With a sickening squish, the creature became nothing more then bits of putrid flesh to pick out of Nikolai's fur.

Growling and slowly shrinking again, he snarled at the Necromancer, who had begun to panic even more. Feeling his neck gripped, he was roughly pulled out of the earth, and was found dangling in the air.

"Why you attack Diplomats." he growled out, trying his best not to snap his neck and let it be over with.

"Miero will never- ack! I'll talk, I'll talk!" he cried, his neck slowly being crushed by his massive paw. "Miero was paid alot, he was! Told to use slave to attack Diplomats, try to kill the Candy Kingdom Princess!" he cried, the squeaky voice driving Nikolai's nerves to the brink.

"By who?" he growled, wishing dearly that he didn't need him alive.

"Some odd fellow, said something about 'removing the problem so he could rule all of Ooo with a iron fist'." he snitched, wanting very much to keep himself alive, as he had for the last several centuries.

"Nikolai want name. Or your head on pike. Both work." He barked out, watching the sulphur smelling mage flinch.

"He never gave me a name! But i can tell you, he was a candy person! Oh yes, oh yes, i saw even thought he didn't want me to, he was made of candy!" he cried, hoping to be released by the massive beast.

Nikolai snarled, and began dragging the man through the woods, crying out as he was dragged over various sharp things. Nikolai would bring to Princess, get name cleared. Then yell at her for being so mean to him and friends. Then go sleep, he decided, watching the creepy man cry out again, as he was dragged through a rose bush.


	13. Chapter 13

An: Hello again! I refuse to not update once a day, even if I'm sick at the moment.

It's kind of funny, but i keep finding myself getting confused when authors who i have happily read their works previously tell me Beast of Burden is good. I almost believe everyone is lying to me, and you find it funny to make me think I'm good. But then i realize that i just have really nice readers ^.^ I hate using emoticons, but ^.^ suits my mood a lot when i write.

I get the feeling no one cares enough to guess, but whatever. The clue is still **The Suited Man is the Key**

Oh, one last ranty thing, (well two, but fuck it, i'm positive you guys just skip down to where it says Chapter _) I find myself trying my very hardest to do Princess Bubblegum correctly. I feel i may have made her more insecure then she is, but hopefully i can fix it. Her character isn't exactly easy, as the only way to describe her is "overly mature" and "hates to be wrong".

On the last note, has anyone noticed that PB gets paler in some episodes? In Susan Strong, we see her pale as a sheet, and wearing neck ware. I don't know if its just a minor error, or Pen is angling at something...

Now, onto the story, dear readers! The finale to the arc, and perhaps to a friendship.

Chapter 13: Apologies Are Never Enough.

Much to the bubblegum girl's surprise, she watched as the beast crashed through the Skylight in the main hall (if anyone had remembered to ask about this, Nikolai would reply "because it looked cool"), a strange jester over his shoulder. As the large beast crashed to the ground, a strange dirty looking man walked in, his dreads bobbing to his stepping.

"Ah! Hello, mon! You must be the princess that Nikolai so avidly spoke of, eh?" he cried, watching the small butler appear to her side. With surprising speed, Paggy waved his arms, seeds discreetly flying from his sleeves onto the candy man. The seeds quickly grew and immobilized Peppermint Butler, vines pinning him to where he was and gagging him from speaking any magic. "We be having none of that, mon!"

Nikolai merely glared at the charging guards, the yellow fools toppling over, fainting. He could tell she was attempting to keep her calm facade up, probably hoping her small friend and servant would free himself quickly.

"Don't be panicking, ya sweet little ting. Me and the big guy here to bring ta true villain to justice, and all that." He spoke, watching the butler. He knew those vines wouldn't last long, and that he would over power him quickly if released.

Nikolai glared at her slightly, dropping the pale and creepy jester, who cried out in agony. "Save Meiro! I didn't do a-" He wheezed loudly, the upset wolf man stepping on his back. "Fine! Fine! Meiro did it, he did! Sent his puppet to kill you!" he cried, the necromancer very afraid of death, it seemed.

"See, mon! Da man sent ta bad juju beast ta rip ya apart and let some other fool take ja throne. Our furry friend here is only guilty of needing to shave his legs, don't ya know!" he cried, Nikolai tossing him towards the princess, his hands and feet bound by the same vines that held the butler.

* * *

She watched in shock as the strange jester was thrown to her feet, wiggling about and cursing. She found herself trying to collect her thoughts, realizing that she had made a very grave error. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the best "mature" voice she could muster. "Upon the grounds of the new evidence, i hereby pull the claims of your guiltiness. I also apologize for the events that i caused with my...incorrect" she hated using that word, "judgement."

The beast man snarled and approached, glaring seethingly. She flinched, and felt very small. He got so close that she could see remains of some sort of gory fight stuck to the bottom of his leg, and he glared at her. "Nikolai not accept. You make up to Nikolai." he growled out, and she shivered at the feel of his breath on her face, his dagger like teeth much more visible then she would ever want to see.

"H-how?" she squeaked out, wishing she could flee.

Nikolai's fierce demeanour suddenly vanished, his angry glare replaced by a very teasing one. Grabbing the small princess, he hugged her and barked out a laugh. "Nikolai scare little one!" he guffawed, putting her down. "Nikolai not mad. Little one was trying to keep order. You have a lot of duties, Nik-...I understand. I only want you to be more careful before judging another." He said, his speech lessons with Marceline (which he hated greatly) coming to mind, attempting to sound proper.

She looked at the massive beast(no, she decided, he didn't deserve the title 'beast') and felt herself giggle a little at what just occurred. She felt herself grinning, and having very little control to stop it. "Fine, Nikolai. I am truly sorry for what i did. You may have just averted a crisis...any my death." She said, shaking his stretched out hand (she had a stray thought that he was incredibly fluffy, and mentally giggled).

Nikolai smiled, glad he had his friend back. He suddenly giggled a little, and the princess gave him a queer look. Turning around, he casually mentioned "Marceline wants to tell you 'you left your panties here last week, come get them'." he cackled lightly as her pink face turned red, realizing that she had just been paid back for the occurrences, that this would be the biggest gossip for days, and that she still needed to apologize to the vampire, deciding she may need to pad the throne afterwards.

* * *

As the two walked away, they laughed loudly, startling the candy citizens at the strange sight, a Large lycan (but not really) and a strange hobo (Not...well somewhat) laugh like maniacs and eventually buckle against a wall, holding their sides. That would be a sight they would never forget.

* * *

As this was occurring, coincidentally, Grubs awoke in a pile of trash and empty bottles, wondering how he ended up in a large cave next to a sleeping bear, and how long he had passed out for.


	14. Chapter 14

An: Holy balls to the walls, i have almost 500 views. And i think i have around 25 regular readers. SO HAPPY. Well besides that, I'm writing as usual, even after my girlfriend attempted to force me to go to bed (i'm still sick, you see) Nothing will stop me from updating, not even my lovely girlfriend. I'd just lay there and be twitchy, anyway.

Now, i meant for this chapter to be a different thing altogether, but this is part of Nikolai's origin story, more or less. The next chapter will also be of importance (which you will get after this) and then the actual double feature chapter.

Back to the topic, i may actually write the double chapter with this one and post it, which could mean up to 4 chapters today. No clue if I'll have the energy. Gonna need to cook up some ramen first.

On another note, i find myself annoyed with my brain. I keep wanting to do little, amusing chapters (i had planned for one where Nikolai and Marceline prank Bubblegum) but then my mind goes "but what if..." and its pushed aside.

Last thing, but i find is amazing that people ask me for checking out their story and give it my opinion. Mostly when i think these people are WAY better then me. But still, i don't mind. Feel free to ask.

Oh, and review! Please do, if people give me any feedback, i can edit and fix anything that was done poorly.

Now, dear readers (And reading Deer), onto the story!

* * *

Chapter 14: Memories of a Lost Love

Marceline smiled, chopping onions on a small wooden board, humming to herself. She had been having quite a good week, starting with Bubblegum apologizing for her behaviour (and the ensuing make up sex), then Nikolai had went hunting, bringing back several jars full of blood, the crimson liquid chilling in her fridge. And she had spent the previous day with her dad, them enjoying the day at a Carnival (she found that her dad was the most amusing when he attempted to act normal, being the farthest thing from it). Thanks to her good mood, she decided she was going to cook for the first time in a long time, making a Stew that her mother had taught her to make. Had she realized that she looked less like the rocker vampire she desired to be seen as, and more as a grey housewife, hair messy and smile on her face, an apron being worn that was covered with stains, she probably would have been in less of a good mood.

Finishing the preparations, she left it to simmer and cook, and wondered where Nikolai had gone. She had become quick pleased with herself (read: smug) that Nikolai had begun to talk properly, using I more often then not. However, the gruffness to his voice had yet to disappear, and his sentences became broken and choppy once in a while (and more so whenever he seemed to be stressed over something)

Wiping her hands, she cocked her ears, hearing music from the cliff above her cave. She looked out into the cold night, the moon high in the sky like a ripe fruit, and floated up, listening to the music. She became startled, nearly crashing into the rocky cliff wall, as she realized he was singing, his voice deep and baritone. She hadn't realized he could actually change his voice, let alone sing! She listened to the lyrics, accompanied by the sad music being strummed from the Gibson.

Why did you betray me

Why did you deceive me

Did our love not stand strong enough

to weather the blows?

You gave me up

Left me to die

And yet i survived

But why

Why, why would you do this to me?

How could you do it

We were in love!

But you gave me to them

and look what i've become!

While you withered away

a delicate flower

I've flourished

like a weed...

I should hate you

you wanted me dead

called me scum

and left me to diiiiie...

But i don't hate you

i never could

But i surely will never

Love you again

Surely i will

never

love you again.

She frowned, that song was not from her (their?) time, and was much sadder then she had expected from the goofy manbeast. She stifled a small gasp, as she heard a light sobbing. She decided to leave him be, not wanting to upset her friend further, when she heard him growl. "Your not very quiet for someone who floats everywhere." he spoke, staring down at her from the cliff edge

She tried to make an excuse, but nothing came out, so she looked away meekly. She was caught, and she felt like she had upset him greatly. However, she found herself pulled up, and dropped on the edge of the grassy knoll. "You want to know, don't you, Marceline?" he said, his eyes looking towards the moon.

She looked away again, but decided that this meek version of herself wouldn't do. She attempted to answer in her usual voice, but it squeaked out and she blushed. "Y-yes"

* * *

Not stopping his staring at the large rock in the sky, he laid back and sighed. "Long ago, Nikolai...I was a doctor. During World war II i had acted as a general practitioner for anyone who needed it. My wife, Klara, acted as my nurse. We had spent 5 years together, meeting when we were only 17, and marrying when we turned 19. The wedding was beautiful, and so was she..." he said, his mind drifting away. He snapped out of it, and sniffled.

"I thought our love was perfect, and that we would spend the rest of our lives together. I was a fool. While i opposed the Nazi party, my wife supported them. It had led to many many fights, but we always made up."

"However, when the Nazi party took rule and began prosecuting the Jewish population, i quickly found myself assisting any i could to flee Germany. My wife, opposed it, and threatened to inform the S.S of my 'traitorous actions' unless i stopped. I never thought she would...until one day..."

* * *

Sniffling, Nikolai Petirosky (or Dr. Petirosky, as the masses called him) rubbed his nose, hoping he hadn't picked up little Bertha's cold when he had been diagnosing her, and begun taking the long walk home, trudging through the snow.

He was a small man, only about five and a half feet tall, and wore a pair of spectacles (he had deemed them his "smart glasses", while Klara deemed them the "stupid glasses"). His eyes were a bright green, looking into them would give you the sense that he was always patient and ready to assist anyone who asked (probably why beggars always asked him, and he always ended up giving them what he had). He wore a large black jacket that made him seem much larger then he truly was, and carried a small brown satchel, full of medical supplies. He had been visiting a family that had all caught the cold, and had been unable to pay for a doctor. He had been given, instead of cash, a apple pie (which he couldn't wait to bite into, the smell driving him mad) and a hug from little Bertha, calling him "the nice man".

Turning the corner of the cold, snowy street, he walked down a dark and gloomy alley, turning once more to arrive at his backdoor. Opening it slowly, as not to awaken Klara, he stepped in and shook the snow off of his clothes, glad to be home. However, he found himself picking up voices from the living room, and he frowned. Klara never has anyone over this late...he thought, alarmed. It could be kidnappers. Or murderers. He stifled the thoughts and pressed himself against the back door of the room, listening.

"So you think your husband is helping those scum, yah?" spoke a man, his voice cruel and uninviting, like the sharp end of a sword.

"...Yes. He refused to stop, even after i pleaded. I think he is keeping them..."

He stopped listening, his mind going numb and his heart beating a mile a minute.

* * *

"How could she!? What a bitch!" cried Marceline, glaring angrily into the darkness, wishing some sort of monster to come along so she could rip it to shreds.

"She did what she thought was right." he spoke simply, returning to the retelling of his most dire moment.

* * *

Grabbing his coat once more, he slipped it on, grabbing a grey satchel he had hidden behind the laundry bin (the one place Klara never bothered to go, forcing him to do the laundry). Moving with great haste, he slipped out the back door, and began to run. His mind went blank, the only thought a repeating 'why...why...why'. Turning a corner, he quickly entered a emptied out district, the once thriving area now desolate after the impounding of the residents. Slipping into a home, he called out. "Freedom" The word was a code phrase, the other being "justice" which meant that they should take the escape route he had so carefully crafted. The floorboards began to rattle lightly, and several were slipped to the side, revealing a staircase and a large Jewish man, his eyes full of worry for the smaller of the two. "Whats wrong, Nikolai? You said you wouldn't be coming till morning." he said, allowing the man down into the basement he had hidden so well.

"No time to explain. Take these, and leave." he handed the large man the satchel, the contents being 6 fake passports he had made for them, and roughly $500 in cash. The man became worried, and placed a large hand on their saviours shoulder. "She told them, didn't she?" he said, knowing the only thing that would rattle such a man.

Nodding slowly, he shook the mans hand. "Godspeed, sir. May your luck be better then mine. " he said, mind distant. The man nodded, and quickly left the small room, entering the larger of the two and gathering his family (and their small puppy, Nikolai, being named after the one who saved them from the execution line. He heard them depart, and shortly afterwards (it could have been hours, he said, unsure of anything at that point.) he heard the sounds of boots on wood, slamming into the house. Sitting down, he awaited his fate.

* * *

Marceline watched the man retell the tale, tears welling in his eyes, being caught on his shaggy fur. He sniffled, lightly, and he turned to the vampire. "This is what happens when bad men rule. Most don't see this, they see a great man. I hope to never see that again."

"But...how did you become like this?" she said, watching him quietly, any attempts to sound like the 'kick ass vampire' gone.

He sniffled, and shook his head furry head. "That tale is not for one as innocent as you." he spoke softly, eyes closing slowly.

She found a twinge of anger rise in her. Innocent? She wasn't innocent! "I'm many things, dog boy, but-" she found her lips covered by a large finger.

"You are. What they did is not for your ears. Or anyone's. I'll bring it to my grave. Now go to your stew, it's going to burn if your not careful." he said, eyes closed and voice small.

She nodded silently and floated off, fists clenching. She wished that the women still existed, so she could lynch her. She wondered if it would be right to tell the others, but shook it away. She was lucky enough to be trusted with it, she would let him tell the others if he wished.


	15. Chapter 15

An: Here is chapter 15. this one is another big story point, but after this I'll probably do some lighthearted stuff. Unless, of course, you guys review and tell me to do the double chapter next (Hint hint, nudge nudge)

* * *

Chapter 15: The Door to the Key

Nikolai sniffed, and frowned. He had begun to smell the strange smell of magic some time after the big dinner with the majority of the people Nikolai knew being there, and had begun to follow it. It didn't smell the same as normal magic. It smelt more...pleasant. Like a flower in full bloom. Following the scent, he charged over the Grasslands, through the Not so Evil Forest (Finn renamed it, much to everyone's chagrin) and found himself in what aome had dubbed "Old Town", a broken city that still stood, albeit barely, after a thousands years and a Nuclear bomb. Most stayed away from the inner depths, fearing ghosts and such, but would scavenge the outskirts of town for anything valuable. The old town was built mostly out of Concrete and Bricks, the homes seeming to be up to two stories (if most hadn't fallen over).

Picking his way through the ruins, he found himself glad that the smell wasn't coming from the centre (Nikolai hated Ghosts), instead coming from a abandoned library. Slipping through the cracked glass door, he walked inside.

It was full to the brim with tomes of the old days, most now destroyed or stolen. The large wood shelves lined the massive room, The floors were carpeted with a ruged and ripped red carpet, it long losing the feel of softness. Passing in between shelves, he kept sniffing, the smell getting closer, and closer.

SMACK!

With a great thud, Nikolai had walked straight into a door. The door, however, floated a foot off the ground and in the middle of the science section, the large rounded door a bright blue, carvings of many strange descriptions on it. With a great amount of force, he pushed the door open, seeing nothing but a void. He frowned, realizing this defied all logic. However, he quickly found himself sucked into the strange door, having no time to grip something to avoid capture. With a massive slam, the door closed on our furry protagonist.

* * *

Pulling himself off the floor, he looked about. He was still in the library, he thought confused. It then occurred to him that books now occupied the shelves, and that the carpet was now made of a fluffy deep blue substance, that made Nikolai wish to sleep on it. He frowned, and realized that this wasn't the same library, as the ceiling went up story upon story, and the books seemed to be written in languages he had never seen.

"Ah. Your here. Good. Was hoping you would. Make it. " said a voice, speaking rapidly and taking short breathes quite often.

Turning quickly he found himself staring at a Wizard. He wasn't very tall, but still seemed to give off a intimidating aura. He had the usual shaggy beard and wild hair combo, the hair kept under (mild) control by a pointed blue hat. He wore the usual blue robes that wizards and mages were so found of, and sniffed again. "Hello, Dr. Petirosky." the man said, shaking his hand rapidly before walking off at a unusually high pace.

Struggling to follow, he growled out "What you done with me? You try to kill me like those stupid cultists?" he growled out, preparing to pounce on the man. He, however, quickly turned and glared, causing Nikolai to shiver. "No, Doctor, i am not. I would expect less hostilities from a man who has shredded 74.6% of all known rivals." he said, turning again. "Now come along, don't want to get lost in here.

He followed, having to jog lightly to keep up with the wizard. "Why did you bring me here?" he said, trying his best not to pant.

"Many reasons. I need help, felt like you could do nicely, Wanted to be charitable." he said, turning a corner, reaching a small open area with tables and chairs, more likely then not a reading area. Sitting down on a cushioned seat, he waved for Nikolai to take the opposite one.

Sitting down, he frowned. This man was more powerful then anyone he had seen. The smell of magic was so strong that he feared the man could sneeze and destroy him. "Who are you, Wizard?" he said, trying to not flinch as the man stifled a sneeze.

"My name is Lucas Varon. I am the Librarian." he said simply, and begun answering each question Nikolai had prepared to ask before he even spoke. "No, i am not going to hurt you, Doctor. Yes, i do need your help. Yes, i understand that i'm more powerful then you by a mile. No, i do not have any food, and if you do this task, i shall assist you in leaving that stupid form." he spoke in rapid order, scaring Nikolai more then before.

As the words caught up to him and he understood what he was saying, he became startled at the last one. "You mean, make Nikolai human?" he said, hope that had long lay dead rising again.

"Human? No? Take a human form? Yes. You do realize that your not stuck like that, right? You took it in defense, and you never changed back. No, I'm not joking. Yes, your correct, the hybrid virus didn't make you stuck like that, why would it? Never did to the originals, they shape shift at will." he said, once again answering questions before they were asked, stroking his beard lightly.

"But, how do i return to my Human form then?" he said, excited to not be covered in fur and claws for the first time in a thousand years.

"Nu-uh. Not yet, doctor. After you assist, i shall give you something to assist in your reversion. And no, you can't do it by yourself. You don't even remember your human form, you can't take it unless you do." he said, apparently reading his mind for the umpteenth time.

He snarled, the gimmick becoming annoying. "What does a man like you need, then?" he said, trying not to leap across the table and attack him, damning the fact that he wouldn't make it out of his chair.

"Simple. In One year, twenty five days, and six minutes, i will require your assistance. And no, i will not require you to leave anything urgent. I checked. No, this isn't one of those things where you'll tell you to kill yourself, or fight a friend. I can't tell you what." he said, causing Nikolai to twitch.

"I'll agree to it, but i also want you to stop reading my damn mind!" he cried out, his head aching from questions being answered mentally.

He inhaled deeply. "Agreed. Now take this." he spoke, handing him a strange golden medallion. On it was the symbol of a bat, it's eyes made of rubies, and the bat itself actually turn if pressed.

"What's this, then?" he said, palming the cold amulet.

"This is a Transformation Amulet for Vampires. While you may not be one." he inhaled "exactly, you are close enough that it should work. It is used if a vampire forgets it's own base form, or to assist it in taking it's primal form. Just spin the bat." he said, leaving his chair, disappearing down a hallway. "The door is behind you!" he yelled, quickly fading out of sight.

Nikolai gingerly put the amulet on, and looked at it. This was big. Really big. Nikolai hadn't thought he would have hands and feet again, or skin that wasn't coated in fur. He delicately spun the bat, and felt a whoosh of power leave him, blacking out.

An: Don't worry, i decided to do a third chapter :D


	16. Chapter 16

AN: I decided to write three chapters, this one being a lighter one to after the inital screaming and such.

So go back to...14 if you just clicked to latest chapter.

Now, i may end of writing the double chapter (which, by my estimation, may end up being like six or seven chapters) but maybe not, even if I'm really excited for what i have planned.

Now, for the next chapter!

**AS PEOPLE AREN'T PAYING ATTENTION, GO BACK TO 14, I HAVE RELEASED THREE CHAPTERS TODAY.**

**GO BACK NOW. COME BACK LATER.**

* * *

Chapter 16: Wolf Be Gone!

Nikolai slowly awoke, pulling himself off of the shag carpet, his eyes watering. He sniffled, and pulled himself to his feet, looking down. He suddenly wondered why the ground was so much closer, and why he couldn't smell as well. Looking down, he nearly fell to the now very close floor again in shock, realizing his furry arms were now smooth, his skin being seen for the first time in a long time. Checking himself over, Nikolai found that he was human, and begun to jump for joy.

* * *

Now, because Nikolai would never realize this, his Human form was still not very close to what he once was. He was a least a foot taller then he had been before (making him a moderate height), and his hair which had been a light brown was now pitch black. His teeth were still sharp and dangerous looking, however much smaller. Much to his surprise, he would notice (eventually) that his face sported a refined goatee (a la Gordon Freeman) that he had always been chastised about by his parents. His hair reached down to his shoulders, splayed about wildly.

* * *

Becoming increasingly annoyed, he decided that he would have to do something about the hair, it's messiness annoying him to no end. Looking down, he realized he was nude. He looked about, spotting the large and ripped shorts he had worn whenever in companies grace, knowing that people were off put by his bait and tackle hanging out. He frowned, realizing that the pants would not fit. Wondering what to do, he suddenly wished his bargain had come with a pair of pants. Looking at the door, he decided that he would deal with it later. As much as he enjoyed this form, he decided, he needed to get to some place with clothes first. And a razor. Focusing, he found himself growing back into his beastly form, changing into it without much concentration. Opening the door, he dashed out to find items he needed.

* * *

After a bit of searching, he found a pair of ragged jeans, and had reverted back to slip it on. He had also found some ratty old shoes, realizing that shoes were needed when his feet weren't covered with fur and thick flesh. Finding an old barbershop, he cut off a majority of his hair, leaving him with only a few inches of it. Looking in a mirror, he rubbed his bearded cheek with a grin. He had missed this.

Turning, he decided he would walk back to Marceline's, enjoying being bi-pedal for once.

* * *

A few hours later, he arrived, sorely regretting the decision. His legs hurt, his feet hurt, everything below his belt hurt, really. Approaching the home, he slipped inside and laid on the floor, ignoring the rock couch, and began huffing loudly. He felt himself becoming drowsy, and let himself fall asleep, his mind still whirring with pleasure at being a man again.

* * *

Hearing the door open and close, she decided that her furry room mate had returned, and went downstairs to greet him. "Hey Nikolai, Wanna-" she stopped, staring at the half nude man lying on her floor, snoring loudly. She growled, presuming it was some form of hobo. She picked up her Trusty axe and lifted it over the man, preparing to smack him with the flat of it, planning to toss him out of the cave afterwards.

* * *

He found himself dodging to the side, his instincts kicking in. Looking up, he saw Marceline hissing at him, attempting to smack him with the modified axe. Dodging quickly, he attempted to speak but was cut off by her swinging it around again to knock him into the ground. He grabbed the axe roughly, expecting his weaker human body to give out, but found it was still just as light. Frowning, he snatched away the guitar was surprising ease.

She hissed and tried to punch him, and he dodged quickly, backing against the wall. "Wait, it's me, Niko-"

SMACK!

Hitting the floor with a now bloodied nose, he swore loudly as she looked down at him confused. "Nikolai?" she said, leaning down and plucking the Axe from his hands.

"Yes, you butt!" he cried, his nose aching painfully.

Her eyes flew open and she blushed, realizing her mistake. Helping him to sit on the table, she floated in front of him. "How are you human? What happened?" she said, perplexed by the transformation.

"I would have told you if you hadn't smacked me in the face!" he said, wishing he hadn't tried to nap. "Some...wizard guy...showed me how to change back. Gave me this amulet." he said, showing off the jewelry to her.

Eyeing it, she frowned. "That only works on vampires. Your not a vampire." she said, holding it up to the light.

"I'm close enough." he said, pulling away to go check his nose in the bathroom, closing the door quickly.

She frowned and hovered at the other side of the door, wondering what the man meant. "Whatcha mean, Nik?" she said, using the pet name that most used, Nikolai being dubbed as too long.

"None of your business!" he said, opening the door, and pushing the floating girl aside. Laying on the floor, he huffed again, deciding that being a human has it's downsides. Like people thinking your a hobo. He then fell back into his sleep, but not before shooting the girl a glare warning her that he wouldn't be pleased if he woke up to be smacked again.

* * *

Drifting back into consciousness, he heard the voice of several people. Keeping his eyes closed, he listened.

"Wow, he really is like me!" He heard the Hero-boy cry.

"Not really, bro. Still smells like a Wolf." spoke Jake, watching the man with the others.

"Very Strange. It's almost like he is some sort of vampire. Maybe he is some form of hybrid?" questioned Princess bubblegum, shoulder to shoulder with Marceline.

"Then he'd burn in the sun. And he wouldn't have been a wolf man like that. Vampires can't take that form, closest we have is a actual wolf." Spoke the house owner, playing footsies with the pink monarch next to her.

"That's good, then. We already have one vampire in the group, we don't need two." Jake said, eliciting a glare from the bloodsucker.

Giving out a growl, he looked up at them, eyes still very bestial. "I'm not a side show." he said, getting to his feet. After everyone finished looking away nervously or apologizing (or in Marceline's case, laugh at his pain), he picked his guitar from the wall, and began to strum the chords. "We gonna jam, or are we gonna sit around and look at me like i'm a piece of meat?" he said, laughing lightly. He was ina good mood, loving the feel of skin instead of fur.

An: Yeah, bugger writing anymore. I'm tired after all this. You got three, better damn review. Everyone should. but i won't force you. just guilt you.


	17. Chapter 17: NEXT TIME READ THE BOLD

An: Welcome back!

Guys, seriously, guys. I left big bold letters that said THERE ARE TWO NEW CHAPTERS BEHIND THIS and people still ignored it. You guys...

Now, for some reason people seem to think Nikolai is human. May i say NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOPE. Nikolai is still the same as he was, it's just he has access to a human form. Think Marceline, if that helps. The human form is simply me expanding on his character, because he is evolving as we go. If you have some complaint about Nikolai being happy, I'm disapointed. He will be staying in his usual form 90% of the time anyway.

Trust me, once you guys get the origin tale of what he is, it will make perfect sense.

Unrelated, but the newest episode of Adventure Time airs in two days, "Jake the Dad" which sounds kind of awesome.

Oh, last thing, **IF IT'S IN BOLD, PAY THE FUCK ATTENTION NEXT TIME. **You don't have to read these, but read the bold!

Now, dear readers, Onto the story.

Chapter 17: Hunter's Pride

As we start today's tale, we come to a very upset looking Nikolai, in his human form (he is being forced to wear a shirt, something he found incredibly uncomfortable) standing next to the actual heroes of this world: Finn and Jake. On this day, they were at the Candy Market, searching for some objects (Finn wanted to get Flame Princess a gift, and Jake needed to buy cribs for the pups who were on the way). Nikolai had come with, (well,forcefully came with, Marceline telling him he needed to learn to be normal, Nikolai just presumed she wanted private time with the monarch)hoping to find some excuse to leave and go hunting, or to spend time with the pack.

His mind wandered to it as Jake haggled over a crib, saying something about the price being "lame as butts". He had been spending a large amount of time with the now freed pack, teaching them the basics of hunting and stealth. He had gone to the abandoned cave system about a week after, becoming annoyed with the couples antics, (it occurred to him that they seemed to cause most of his problems this way) and had found that they were barely sufficient as wolves, not learning the basic's of being a beast. He had began to teach them, and they had learned eagerly, dubbing him their Pack leader, much to his protest. However, they had become a fine pack, and with his guidance, they kept away from anyone or anything that would deem them a threat. He wondered if he could distract the human boy long enough to take form and flee (the boy being told if he kept Nikolai with them he would be given some sort of reward) when he sniffed the air, the smell of bad memories coming to his nostrils.

He had found this form annoying mostly, the lack of proper senses and weak flesh, but enjoyed being able to walk among people without being attacked/screamed at. He still didn't like shirts.

He looked through the crowd, and it became obvious the smell was noticeable to all as they covered their noses. Nikolai knew it too well: blood that had aged well beyond what it should be. He growled lightly, the human boy beside him gripping his nose.

"What's that rank smell, man? It smells worse then the Ice King on a hot day!" he cried, attempting to not vomit.

"Yeah, bro. That smell is rank beyond belief." The dog said, his flesh growing over his nose to combat the smell.

Nikolai spotted the cause, a creature he had never hoped to see again; a Serpentine. The creatures were mutants like the rest of the citizens of Ooo, but came from a land far away from this one, which existed on the other side of the Crater. They were a strange looking people, standing like a human and with the shape of one, but the similarities ended. Their bodies were covered in a layer of pale coloured scales, ranging to almost any colour on the spectrum. Their faces were more lizard then man, having dual eyelids which would blink in such a way to make anyone shudder, the small slits instead of a nose, and the fanged mouth with a snake like tongue.

What made them one of the worst things Nikolai had ever seen, however, was their culture. They believed that in order to prove your strength, nothing else must stand in your way. As such, they would kill anything that looked dangerous, attempting to be the "strongest Serpentine" in all the lands. After each kill, they would use the beasts claw, fang, etc, and carve a line across their right arm, each line representing their strength.

Their outfits were always weird and creepy, being made of whatever they found, from the skins of other animals, to the skins of enemy Serpentine. Whatever the outfit, they always wore their right arm bare to prove their strength. Nikolai had stumbled into their lands a long time ago, and still bore a scar from the incident.

Sniffing, Nikolai frowned. He had heard tales of the Crater being the most dangerous thing in all of Ooo, and had hoped to find something to test Nikolai's strength. All Nikolai found was some stupid magic men trying to bring back the dead! He growled mentally, wiping some errant blood off his coat. He stepped out of the edge of the massive crater, and shook himself clean, sighing. Maybe Nikolai would travel to the bad places below the ground, he thought. He could find challenge there! Looking about, he saw the area was a large and gloomy swamp, the tree's taller then skyscrapers, their age probably being as old as the large man beast. He slowly stepped through the boggy waters, shuddering at the feel of cold mud on his paws, and sniffed the air. He could smell something putrid, like a corpse picked clean, leaving nothing but old blood. He realized it was approaching quickly, and dived out of the way of a large blackish red object.

Snarling he looked at the strange creature, a lizard man holding the oddest of weapons: A blade made of old blood. It seemed liquid but solid, the massive great sword edged like a cleaver. The thing swung it quickly, attempting to chop Nikolai in half. He snarled, grabbing the blade mid-air, and attempted to crush it in his palm. However, he found it stronger then the grip he could afford. Wrenching it from Nikolai, the creature hissed at him and charged, revealing the thing's right arm with 5 scars, like a tally of some sort. He howled and dived under the blade, allowing his claws to swipe at it's belly. Nikolai rolled to the left, his entire body now coated in muck, looking to see that his claws had only left mild scratches, no deeper then a cut from a errant razor.

The thing laughed and charged, swinging the blade with such a speed that it sliced Nikolai across the ribs, causing him to howl. The wound wasn't so deep to cease fighting, but it was enough that he began to see red. And when he saw red, everyone else started seeing it soon after.

Much to the creatures surprise, he watched his prey grow, nearly doubling in size to the size of a small house. Howling, Nikolai charged, the bloodlust leaving him with little care of bodily wounds. The serpentine attempted to ward him off with a slash across the shoulder, but found himself under Nikolai's massive paw. Growling, he lifted and brought it down, crushing the creature. As soon as the life left the snake man, the blade seemed to lose it's shape, becoming nothing more then a puddle of foul smelling blood.

Shrinking down, Nikolai snarled in pain, his left rib cage and right shoulder now aching mightily. He snarled and glared at the creature. It was dumb, trying to attack mighty Nikolai! He snarled triumphantly, and turned to the sound of rustling in a bush. Spinning on his heels, he came face to face with multiple serpentine, all bearing scars of roughly 4 or less. Growling, he watched them slowly skirt him to pick up the creature and carry it away, leaving Nikolai perplexed. Deciding that staying was not a good idea, he fled back into the Crater, where he deemed himself safe.

The memories fading away, he found himself staring at the creatures arm. It bore 14 scars, each one more jagged and vicious then the last. It moved through the crowd, uncaring of the small candy citizens, and Nikolai snarled. This thing deserved a beating. Or a crushing. Eyeing his weapon, a massive warhammer made of the same substance as the last, It wielded both a flat end and a jagged, the mighty hammer making him nervous. Approaching through the crowd, attempting to blend in, he heard it speaking to a Banana Guard.

"Ssssso you don't know where the beasssstssss lay? Disssssapointing. I wisssshed to sssslay a few Lycan for fun, before finding my prey." It spoke to the terrified guard, wishing he was still on the wall, playing cards with his fellow guards.

Nikolai snarled, the thing wanted to slay his pack! He found himself quickly losing his human form, growing taller with every second, before his shirt ripped clean off (he was glad of that) and his pants barely fitting to conceal his lower bits, he snarled at the serpentine. "You wish to fight Lycans? You go through Nikolai first!" he howled, gripping the man by the back and tossing him clean out of the Candy Kingdom, landing on the other side of the massive wall.

Enjoying the feel of being him again, he leaped over the wall, glad to be seven feet tall and furry instead of six and smooth. Landing next to the creature, he howled. "Lets fight, Gecko man!" he howled out, anxious for a fight after such a long time.

He watched the creature stand up, scowling fiercely. It pulled the War hammer from it's back, and hissed at him. "You'll regret that, Beasssssst!" it snarled, charging him with speed that few would have been able to follow.

Grinning like the devil, he charged, diving under the swing of the hammer, gripping it's leg. Nikolai had gotten much better, he had. Swinging it down onto the ground, he watched it roll and kick at him, landing straight into his chest. Gasping, Nikolai snarled at his foolishness and dived onto the lizard man, attempting to drive his claws into his flesh. However, he found himself aiming at dirt, the slippery creature rolling and sliding out from under him. 'You'll make a fine trophy on my wall, Beasssst!" it hissed out, Swinging the massive hammer at him.

He snarled and caught the flat end, wrenching it from the creature, tossing it some yards away. He approached it, growling. "Your kind bad! Nik-I hunt for food. I hunt to survive. You hunt to kill. Your bad people. You deserve death!" he snarled, charging the now weaponless creature.

He found himself surprised that the thing had dodged the charge, slipping behind him to drive it's small claws into his flesh. Howling, he turned and snapped at him, biting into it's arm. It tasted like lizard, and it made him want to retch. The thing hissed in pain and tried to free himself, but found Nikolai using the situation to grab it's neck. Lifting it in the air, he growled. "Nikolai always wins."

SNAP!

Falling to the ground, lifeless, he gave out a victory howl. Nikolai decided he had truly succeeded in becoming stronger, deeming that one well over twice as strong as the one that had wounded him. He grinned, realizing that he had escaped the boy and dog, and fled into the candy forest, determined to never wear a shirt again.


	18. Chapter 18

AN: Hey guys and gals!

Well, i'm glad to see that i made a boo boo. Apparently, the serpentine are from some thing called "ninjago" and that simply won't do. So isntead, i've been mulling over a new name. Infernoleo suggested "Skrillien" which i liked, but the name "Geckin" got stuck in my head, so i think imma go with that. Still, good suggestion.

Now, i've gotten a complain that this AT fanfic isn't AT enough...which i suppose is KIND OF true. The story is more based around Nikolai then anything else. But, that will change! The story will conclude soon, And i shall start the next piece, The Enchanter (name pending). Hopefully, i will be able to make it more AT-ish. I just find myself not wanting to do a more heavily focused story on the characters, in case i fuck them up.

Still sick as a dog (actually worse then before) and my eyes are watering. It's not easy writing when you can't see. YOU BETTER BE HAPPY, PEOPLE.

Last thing, only...4 or 5 chapters Remain. Maybe a few more, depends on how the story decides it wants to end. Don't worry, Nikolai lovers, he will return (he may get another story, who knows?). But i wish to finally write "The Enchanter." Hopefully it will turn out really well. I don't think i'll ever be more popular then SCIK, sadly.

Now Dear readers, Onto the Start of the end!

* * *

Chapter 18: Journey To The Truth

As we begin, we find ourselves behind the obsidian eye's of Marceline, Standing next to the ever excitable Finn, and the ever grumpy Nikolai. They were making their way through The Tundra, a land that bordered Ooo and had no actual denizens, the cold too great for any mortal. The freezing wasteland looked like a blue desert: Nothing but flat ice and the occasional Skeletal remains of a home.

Looking over to Finn, who had donned a full snow outfit consisting of a goofy looking blue jacket and snow pants, and a white scarf pulled over his easily frozen face, she found herself amused at the mortal's perseverance. She, however, wasn't wearing a different thing, just some jeans and a old shirt donning the logo of a forgotten band. Being a vampire, she didn't feel the cold in any sense, and found it actually pleasant to walk through the wasteland. Looking over to the grumpy wolf man, who refused to look at them, she saw that he wasn't having much trouble since he was covered in that thick shaggy fur.

The reason why he was so upset was that the two brats (he decided that's what they are, growling to himself like a upset puppy) had followed him, even after he had asked that they didn't. They made some sort of excuse about "wanting to go on a adventure" and had followed him. He had attempted to lose them, but only ended up tiring himself out after realizing that it's hard to run away from someone who can fly. Huffing, he tried to ignore their conversation.

"What do you mean that robot limbs aren't awesome? They're like regular limbs, but made of metal! I could replace my arm with some sort of laser firing sword thing, imagine what i could do with it!" He cried, them having argued over this for the last two hours.

Marceline laughed, floating slightly in front of Finn, and decided to win the argument with a single sentence. "Yeah, but how would your precious 'fire lily' act if she couldn't hold your hand anymore because it shot lasers?" she said, cocking her eyebrow in a mocking way. She watched him blush at the reveal of his nickname for the girl, wondering how the vampire queen had heard it, and slumped in defeat, deciding it would be unmathmatical if he couldn't. Grinning, the girl turned and decided to ask something she probably should have asked about 5 hours back when they had officially left the land of Ooo. "Where are we going, Nikky boy?" she said, casually floating upside down in front of him, looking at the annoyed beast man.

"Nik-I, was going to the bad place. But Nikolai is not bringing you two there. So Nikolai going to go to go to what was once my hometown." he said, pushing the levitating girl out of the way.

She pouted teasingly at the huffing wolf man, poking his side repeatedly. "Oh, gonna try and ditch us, huh? We not cool enough for you, mister i-am-so-cool-because-i-have-a-furry-butt" she said, watching the wolf man slowly lose his patience.

"Nikolai very close to burying you." he said annoyed, side stepping away from her.

"Oh yeah, because your soooooo tough-" she attempted to tease, but found herself suddenly buried in pile of snow, causing Finn to laugh and Nikolai's mood to brighten. A little.

She huffed and cleaned the white powder off of herself, glaring at the human boy. "Marcy, you look like you fell into a pile of sugar!" he laughed out, holding his padded side. The vampire monarch grabbed a snowball and attempted to lob it at his face, missing however, when he rolled and begun lobbing them with surprising accuracy, each one hitting her square in the face. This, as you can guess, put Nikolai in a even better mood. The resulting chaos was them whipping snow at each other, ending with Nikolai and Finn fleeing from a snowy and upset bat creature, giving out laughter that made their sides hurt.

* * *

After leaving the tundra, they had reached the Old Lands, which was the largest concentration of still surviving buildings, the old ruined city lightly powdered with snow. Finn could see, even with them in ruins, what a marvel of the human spirit such a place was. He found himself twitching to explore, wondering what ancient treasures lay undisturbed. However, he found his stomach growling, and that took precedent.

Looking over, Nikolai had finished making a camp fire, which Finn eagerly warmed himself by, and he gestured to the boy. "You hungry? Why not come hunt with me, you might learn to do something besides swinging that sword and necking with your 'fire lily'" he said teasingly, eliciting a blush from the boy.

"F-fine, Nik." he said, attempting to regain his usual bluster. Nikolai smirked at the boy, and waved at him to follow as he begun to trot over the snow, sniffing the air.

Not long after, they came to the edge of the city, Nikolai creeping along the ruins of a home, the boy in tow. Gesturing, he pointed around the corner. Peeking slowly, he spotted the obvious prey; a large boar, it's tusks as white as the snow and as sharp as a sword. It was sniffling through the snow, looking for some form of food. Nikolai pointed, and slowly crept towards the boar, it more focused on the finding of something to devour then to notice Nikolai creeping behind it. Gesturing to finn, he took place hiding behind some rubble in front of the boar.

Grinning, he howled directly behind the boar, causing it to squeal and run towards where the boy lay, hidden. Finn, who had been holding his breath, the short moments before this one had been filled with adrenaline rushing about his body, leaped from cover, and he drove the blood forged sword into it's neck, killing it before it had realized what had occured.. Grinning, Nikolai approached it, and patted it gently. "Thank you for the meal." he spoke simply, picking the massive thing up and carrying it over his shoulder. Finn watched, the rush of the hunt making him feel quite pleased. It reminded him of the rush he got in battles, but decided he enjoyed it more when the enemy fought back. Following the beast man, he sheathed the blade, deciding that the experience had been much shorter then he expected.

Almost knowing this, Nikolai spoke up. "This is how hunt should always go. The beast should either die before it knows, or gore you to the side of a tree. But that isn't how it always turns out. Be grateful it was slow enough to not notice you, or Nikolai might have to carry you home in box." he said, giving out a barking laugh when his face went pale.

* * *

Watching them both drift to sleep, Nikolai finished the morsel of meat he had left, and got up quietly. He would return for them in a day or two, they should be able to fend for themselves until then, the old city filled with enough wonders to keep then both occupied for weeks.

Moving with the quietness of a ghost, he left the campsite and begun running towards his original destination, hoping they wouldn't find his trail and follow him.


	19. Chapter 19

An: Hello! Welcome to another chapter!

Now, this will be the double chapter i spoke of. I'm going to do both chapters as one big chapter, to avoid another moment where people miss 2 chapters.

Now, as the story enters the final moments, i'll ask for a review as usual. I have this feeling that the story wasn't as good as i wanted, but hopefully i can make "The Enchanter" better.

Seriously, review. Your feedback will allow me to write better if i know what i'm doing wrong. Don't be a butt.

Last thing, this chapter will be very dark, unless i decide to veer away from it. Once again, i don't write the stories, i just write what happens.

Now dear readers, Onto the tale of origins!

Chapter 19: Where It All Began

Trudging through the snow, Nikolai sniffled, grumbling to himself like a upset child. He hated the snow, he hated the winter, he hated Germany...He looked to the side, at the remains of a old school, and memories of walking by it, watching the kids go about their days as he trudged to his office to treat yet another sick patient. He shook his head, and continued trudging along.

After a period of time that he couldn't quite guarantee, he came to what he was looking for: a old looking factory, the brown bricks and tall windows ruined, leaving a snowy remain of what was once the cover for the place where he had been held. Climbing over shattered glass and crumbling bricks, he stepped inside and sniffed around.

* * *

Marceline giggled to herself, proud that she had tricked him. She knew he was going to leave, and had pretended to sleep until he had left, then had kept to the air to ensure he couldn't smell her. She had watched him trudge into the factory, and watched him sniff around, looking like a dog trying to find a buried bone, and had stopped in the right hand corner of the building. Stomping his foot down, he seemed to decide something. He began stomping harder and harder, the building's remains shaking lightly.

Suddenly, the ground gave out and he disappeared down a hole, a large square of the floor crumbling down to reveal some sort of elevator shaft. She floated to the edge and listened, wondering how deep it was.

...

...

...

THUMP!

She barely heard the wolf man yelp in surprise at hitting the ground, and descended downwards slowly, keeping herself out of the sight of the large hairy man.

* * *

He sniffled, rubbing his sore legs. He decided he must have fallen a dozen or two stories, and was quite glad he had such indestructible legs. Moving stiffly, he approached the only means of escape; a elevator door, long ago rusted close. Growling, he wrenched his claws between the metal doors, and began to pull furiously. With a massive screech of resistance, it opened enough for him to fit his bulky frame through.

Stepping into the halls, he found himself surprised at the condition the facility was in. Excluding the damage he had caused more then a 1000 years ago, the place was near pristine. The lights still worked, more likely then not still being powered by the strange core thing he had stumbled into on one of his many escape attempts.

Walking down the hallway, he sniffed the air, his destination not completely known to him. He shuddered as he walked down the white hallways, the scent of medical supplies and death still residing here.

* * *

She peeked through the doors, watching him turn a corner. Deciding to explore in a different direction she floated down the hallway and went in the opposite direction. She floated about, looking at the various doors and the signs above them in German(She became glad that Bubblegum had taught her to read it, deciding she might let it slip that it had been helpful...maybe) and attempted to find something of interest.

Reaching the end of the hall, she came across a different door then the others. While most were made of heavy metal and had nothing but a small hole to peek through, this one was made of wood and glass, giving the air of some form of office.

Opening the door with a slight creak, she entered the room to find that it was nothing like the spooky hallways. The walls were covered with a nice wood inlay, and the floors made of some sort of shaggy carpet, a deep blue that reminded her of Finn's shirt.

In the middle of the room was a desk and chair, a ancient computer on the left side of the desk, various tapes and notes on the right. She floated over to it and began sifting through it casually, and began reading them at random.

July 15, 1984

A Strange man appeared recently, offering a deal: 1000 human souls for a vial of his blood. We quickly realized this...thing was not of this world, some sort of demon. He named himself Hunson Abadeer, and we quickly accepted the offer. After examining the Blood, we deemed it a perfect candidate for creating Project Pure Blood. We have injected several subjects, allowing them to 'turn'. They seem to be similar to Vampires of lore, carrying many of the same strengths and weaknesses. However, the fact that they are undead simply won't do; they cannot breed or even truly be called alive. We have exterminated them and have begun work on a new variant of the serum.

Marceline stared at the paper, not quite sure how to react. Quickly grabbing the next one, she continued to read the journal, with elated breath.

July 20, 1984

The serum has been completed. Using a variety of various animal (and even plant) bases, we have changed the way that the transformation changes the subjects. Currently, we have 10 subjects, but the most promising if Subject Nikolai. Unlike the others, who show various levels of insanity (the plant lifeform has barricaded itself into it's own room, and we are unable to enter. We have deemed that it will die eventually and will leave it be), he has shown cleverness and logic, this being confimed by the events that occured yesterday.

When a soldier had gone in to feed the patient, he found that the beast had broken free of it's bonds, but had pretended to still be trapped, up till the point where he opened the door, where the soldier was charged by the subject, his neck snapped, and the subject attempted to flee, being caught after killing two other soldiers. The events can be seen under the video log "Nikolai escape 1"

Turning to the computer, she booted it up and began searching through it, before coming to a folder entitled "Subject Nikolai". Clicking it, she found around a dozen or so folders, labelled various things from "Video" "Pictures" "History" and so forth. Quickly clicking the video folder, she opened the first video and sat down, her eyes glued to the old CRT monitor

* * *

She could see it was definitely Nikolai, nothing quite looking like the shaggy man and he his arms were chained to the wall of the small and cold prison cell. The video fast forwarded through several hours, and she saw what he had been doing: around the fifth hour, he had become free of the shackles. They were now only held there by gravity, the smallest movement would have caused them to fall off.

Shortly after, a portly man in a odd uniform (she recognized it as the military outfit that the Nazi part used) entered. He began to taunt him, calling him a oversized mutt and so forth. She watched Nikolai in anticipation, and she caught the moment he decided to move, his eyes glaring up at the man with seething hatred.

Charging wildly, he grabbed onto the man and gripped his neck, snapping it before he could cry out. She watched Nikolai leave the camera's sight, and heard the sound of a man screaming, followed by gunfire and howling.

* * *

Grabbing the next note, she read it quickly, her levitation now replaced by her sitting in the desk chair, too focused on the task at hand

July 30, 1984

After the first attempt, Nikolai has escaped three more times, each time getting progressively more clever. After enacting more strict rules about the subject, he began doing things that stopped them from doing that. It covered the camera with the linen off the bed, and stuffed the eyehole with the fabric. When armed guards entered the room, they could not see him anywhere. Entering, they were promptly mauled by it, having been holding onto the ceiling using it's massive claws. We have decided to keep the subject drugged as much as possible, to ensure less hostility. We would kill it, however, the subject is the only surviving one, the others having killed themselves off (we cannot confirm this for the plant life form, as it is still barricading the door). We are still attempting to create a new version of Subject Nikolai with less hostility, but to no success. The other two that survived the change are just as dangerous, both of which escaped. While not holding the same strength as Nikolai, they had been placed in adjacent rooms and had tunnelled towards each other, then using their combined strength to escape. They had attempted to free Nikolai, but the guards drove them back before they could. Even though he hasn't escaped, the subject has been grinning for the last 2 days.

She frowned, wondering who the other two were, and what this plant thing was. Grabbing the next page, she kept reading

August 7, 1984

The subject has, unfortunately, escaped. We have video footage of the occurrence, but watching it is baffling, to say the least. The subject apparently carries the same Transformation abilities as the original subjects, and had grown to such a size that bullets were simply uneffective. Squeezing down the halls, the subject smashed his way through the entirety of the complex, escaping through the elevator shaft.

As it remains, we only have the plant lifeform remaining (after much discussion, we deemed it was still alive, as the smell of flowers permeates the hallways near it). However, we have found a replacement. The subject was injected with a variance of what we gave to Subject Nikolai, replacing the Lupin genetics with d.n.a from humanity. Previous attempts with this led to failure, as the virus in Hunson's blood infects human's only, but the scientists were able to change this, allowing the creation of perfect humans.

August 12, 1984

The subject is a complete failure. While still seeming perfectly human, the subject (a loyal Aryan soldier; perfect candidate we believed) has become completely insane, and we have deemed it more dangerous then Nikolai by far. After one of the multiple escape attempts, it (even Nikolai had traces of humanity. This thing does not) had an entire clip from a soldiers rifle loaded directly into it's skull. This, however, only upset it, and it ripped the man clean in half. We have placed it in cryostasis, unable to actually kill the creature. We are abandoning the base, as the Reich has ended. I leave this mostly as a warning: Do not release the creature from cryostasis.

Marceline became startled, the warning made her become very antsy. She decided that Nikolai needed to know. Floating out of the office, she hurriedly followed the path Nikolai had taken

Coming to another room, she found Nikolai hunched over a computer, the sound of a mouse clicking being heard. As she approached, she peeked over his shoulder.

"Nik, we have problems-" She attempted to warn him.

"I know." he said softly, pointing at the screen.

On screen, was a camera feed of some sort of large tube filled with ice. In the middle of it was the creature that she had read the warning about, a muscular man that looked completely human, if his face and skull wasn't matted with blood.

Clicking again, he began to search through the feeds, attempting to find...something. However, he stopped and nearly fell out of his chair, startling the vampire.

"Nik?...Nik?" she said, peeking over his shoulder again.

The camera showed a room filled with plants and flowers, the sheer amount of green startling compared to the blank walls of the rooms. What was most surprising, however, was the small green girl who seemed to be emanating the plants, her legs and arms held aloft by the flora.

And she was breathing.


	20. Chapter 20

An: My lordy lordy...back again.

That new episode of adventure time was...wierd. But eh, when isn't it?

And as i have said, yes i understand the story revolves around Nikolai. I am mostly attempting to learn how to write again before i tackle a big story i have planned, that will involve most of the gang. I may attempt some smaller oneshots, or a small story focused on them, in order to learn how they work properly.

The story, dear readers, is drawing to a close. We may have a peak at someone VERY important.

Now, dear readers, onto the near finale!

Chapter 20: Freedom

Marceline found herself running (read: floating quickly) next to Nikolai, who was barrelling down the hallway like Finn at the mention of adventure. Turning a corner, they found themselves at the destination surprisingly quickly.

Approaching the door, Marceline was assaulted by the smell of flowers, offsetting the foul smell of the horrid little facility. She watched in surprise as Nikolai wasted no time gripping the hinges of the door, and attempting to pull it out of the wall. This, however, proved to be folly when it was briefly revealed that a large amount of flora was gripping the door with barbed vines, holding it in place. Snarling, he looked to the vampire. "Cut those vines with your axe, i can't do it alone." he spoke, positioning himself for more of a leveraged pull.

Pulling roughly, he briefly revealed the plant life that barricaded the door. Swinging the Axe bass down onto the vines, they snapped under the blow and allowed the door free. However, Nikolai forgot to factor in the whole "sudden loss of resistance" and ended up pulling the door onto himself. Kicking it off after a brief moment of confusion, he stared into the room, only to find himself gripped tightly by very thorn covered vines. Howling as the barbs dug into him, he attempted to free himself, only to be saved again by his vampiric ally. Cutting the vines down, Nikolai fell to the floor, coughing roughly. Looking up, he saw the nymph like figure on the camera giving him a look more closely resembling something from the Nightosphere.

* * *

She had brief realization that she had been asleep for quite a long time, but it didn't really matter, she groggily decided They were at the door. Again! How annoying, they just won't leave me alone! She glared hatefully at the door, deciding that they wouldn't get in. Thus why it was surprising to see the door being pulled right off it's hinges. Crying out in surprise, she commanded the vines to pull the door back in place. They didn't do that before! She became worried, realizing that they may get in.

When the door was pulled again, she found herself watching some sort of axe cut down the vines, and the door flying backwards. Tensing the remaining vines, they pounced, attacking the soldier that she had expected to see. However, when she briefly say fur and not skin, she became confused. In front of her was the now cut down (she decided she hated that axe) wolf man that she had breifly heard about before she entered the deep sleep. Watching him, he attempted to show passiveness by raising his massive claws up, like a man who had been caught by the police. Looking to the side, she saw that whoever wielded that annoying axe was a woman, and she wasn't human by any stretch of the imagination.

She felt herself confused, half of her wanting to shred them into pieces, and half wanting to see what they wanted. However, she had no time for quarrels, when she found herself cut down from the plants that had fed her with nutrients for however long she had been awake, and falling into the fluffy arms of the wolf man, looking at her worriedly.

* * *

Looking down, he attempted to figure out what she was. Her body (she was nude, he realized, and he attempted to not look at certain places) was a light green, but felt human in most aspects. Her body was incredibly tiny, probably no more then five feet tall, and she felt like a feather in his arms. Her hair seemed to be a darker green, resembling a leaf on a tree. Her eyes are what caught his gaze, a light gray blue that reminded him of the ocean on a cold winter night.

He watched the girl, and suddenly became aware that she wasn't very comfortable with the situation, a blush on her cheeks, which elicited a giggle from the vampire. "Got yourself a girl, eh Nikky? Don't even say hi, and your already cuddling!" she cackled , and found a vine swinging out of the room at her.

* * *

After being place down, she found herself staring up at the large furry man, who looked down at her with a embarrassed glint in his eyes. She covered herself slightly, feeling embarrassed again, and he looked away, aware of the discomfort. He sniffled. "I'm Nikolai. This is Marceline. You have been down here a long time. You realize this, right?" he said soothingly, attempting to slowly acclimate her into the facts.

"What, a dozen years?" she said, cocking her head to the side.

"Erm...no...more like...a thousand years." he said, sniffling.

She stared up at the big wolf man, and her eyes went wide, attempting to take in this fact. She attempted to say something, but found herself sitting down, leaning against Nikolai's leg. "It's alright, little one. Nikolai was from here too. He escaped all those years ago, and we came back here, but he never told us why." Marceline glared at him, eliciting a cough.

"I...wanted to find information about the other two. We had planned escape, we had used one of the other creatures; he had become telekinetic, and all four of us planned escape. I tested the place, and found our escape route. However, our telekinetic friend died, so we moved. They made it out, i didn't. We had attempted to contact you, little flower. But you never responded." he frowned, looking down at her with a sad twinkle.

"I...thought it was a trick." she said, blushing at her mistake. "But how are you alive? It's been a thousand years!"

"Same reason why you are, sis. We are all the same, in a way. You're a hybrid of vampires, given different attributes in order to make 'the perfect Aryan' or some butt. But it didn't work too well, because they are all dead, and you two are immortal." she said, patting the girls shoulder.

"What? I'm a vampire? Do i need to drink blood, and stay away from garlic? I don't want that! I love garlic!" she cried, her face drawing into a pout.

"No, your a hybrid. You have none of my weaknesses. But, you have only a fraction of my powers. Now calm down and stop being a butt!" Marceline said, hissing at her, eliciting a 'eep!".

Nikolai could have interfered, but he just watched, grinning.

"Thats just mean!" she cried, attempting to hide behind Nikolai's leg. She glared hatefully at the vampire, wishing she would trip and fall onto that stupid axe.

"Well, missy, aren't you close to Nikolai already? Your already on your knee's for him!" she cackled out again, watching the girl blush as she realized just what position she was in. Trying to act calm, she sat against a wall, glaring at them both, eliciting a whine from Nikolai.

Nikolai sniffled, and looked down the hall. "Marceline, take her and go. Nikolai meet you both back at cave. One thing left to do." he said, picking the girl up and handing her to Marceline, making her feel like some sort of object with how people handled her.

Attempting an argument, she found herself being glared at. "No discussion. Go." he growled out, watching her growl back.

"Oh shut up, you butt! By grod, I'm stronger then you, mister i-can't-even-float-or-transform-into-unspeakable-evils" she taunted, poking his muzzle.

Snarling, he grabs her by her waist using one hand, and lifts her up in the air. "Your also very tiny. You'd break if I stepped on you."

"No i wouldn't!" she cried, struggling to free herself from the furry grip.

Raising his eyebrow, he place her on the ground and feigned at stepping on her, causing her to hiss and roll away. "Your not very cool sometimes, Nik." she said, sitting next to the girl and pouting.

He grinned and charged off down the hallways, leaving even more scuff marks on the marble floor.

She looked over at the plant girl, and smiled mischievously. "You wanna follow him?"

"Totally"


	21. Chapter 21

An: hooray! Reviewers!

Now, yes, i have said this before, i understand that the story isn't revolving around the AT characters. The reason being i have been trying to hone my writing skills before moving onto a larger story which will have Finn and others as major characters. I understand if the story is a little too 'OC driven', so just bear with me here. By the end of the week, you guys will probably have the next story up here to read.

Now, This chapter will be very fight driven, so i hope i don't fuck it up. I really do.

Dear readers, we reach the conclusion of the tale. Let us begin the end, shall we?

Chapter 21: Let the Pendulum Drop.

As Nikolai charged down the hall, he allowed himself to increase in mass, growing to nearly twice his original size. This fight would be more dangerous then he had ever fought before, he decided as he approached the doors that led to the fight. They were obviously different from the others, more resembling a elevator door then anything, made of metal as thick as Nikolai's arm. The massive doors reached the ceiling, which made them loom over the wolf man by a few feet. He frowned, realizing that the doors would not open by brute force. Looking down, he came across what would open the monolithic doors; a keypad. Leaning down the best he could, he decided that brute force might solve this problem, and smashed his furry fist into it, crushing it into the wall. Much to his (and the two girls that had been following him, peeking around the corner like scared squirrels) the doors slid open, hissing lightly at the exchange of air.

Stepping into the room, he saw it was larger then any other room, big enough to fit a large home inside, the bare steel walls that rose to nearly double his height gave him a eerie feeling. Looking around through his massive eyes, he saw many operating tables and desks, this probably being where they devised the creatures that had once been imprisoned here. What loomed in the middle of the room, however, was the objective that Nikolai had sought.

The large cryogenic tube dominated the room, the cold glass filled with even colder ice. He felt his eyes focusing as hard as they could, causing his pupils to shrink in size, he spotted what lay in the middle. A small boy, who had been no older then 13, he decided, lay frozen inside. He would have been a heartthrob in his later years, and would have caused all the eldery women to squeal and pinch his pale cheeks, had part of his face not been obscured with shrapnel and blood. His blonde hair and blue eyes gave him a almost innocent look, if you ignored the gore sticking from the right side of his face.

Nikolai felt sorry for the child, and decided it would be best to kill it now, before the facility eventually lost power and it was freed. Lumbering towards the massive tube, he brought his fist down on it like a furry war hammer, smashing the glass and ice into shards. The boy's small body went the same way, breaking into small red pieces amidst the ice.

Deeming his work done, he turned around, only to hear a sound that he couldn't describe. The best that came to him was dragging a bad full of blood across a floor. Turning around, he saw the chunks had melted into a copious bloody liquid, amassing roughly in the middle of the mess, slowly forming into the boy that had stood frozen moments ago. Looking towards the massive beast with innocent eyes, it gave out a blood curdling shriek that would have made Hunson himself shudder.

It's form didn't seem to matter much, as it's hands morphed to resemble the claw's Nikolai wielded, charged the large creature with startling speed. Dodging to the side, he watched the thing cut a steel table in half, hissing like the angriest snake ever. It charged him again, and began to grow, rapidly taking the same size as Nikolai, it's eyes angry and seething. Gripping it's arms, Nikolai threw it across the room with a massive thud. It may be dangerous, he decided, but it wasn't very good at fighting.

It turned and raised it's arm, it morphing into a long angry looking bone, which extended across the room at breakneck speeds. Dropping to all fours, he avoided the brunt of the bone, losing a good amount of fur and flesh from his shoulder. Charging like he was so fond of, Nikolai dodged a swipe of the shrinking bone arm, and brought his claw into a uppercut, leaving a thick and bloody trail across the mutant's body. This, however, proved to do little, as it knit it's body back together, howling like a banshee. It swiped at him with it's clawed arm, and Nikolai gripped the perverse thing, snapping the arm roughly. This was nothing, apparently, as it merely crunched back into place and tried again.

Backing up quickly, Nikolai found it directly in his face, apparently catching onto his plan, and delivered a very destructive blow to the wolf man's head, making him snarl through the stars he now saw. Driving his arm as quickly as he could, he plunged it directly into the monster's chest, gripping what he guessed was it's heart. Pulling with all his might, he ripped it directly from the creature's chest. This was another mistake, as it merely melted and slid across his arm, becoming an angry membrane that squeezed tighter and tigher with each passing second. Howling, he ripped at the membrane with his free claw, to no avail.

Gritting his teeth, he decided he had only one option, and began to grow again, doubling his size once more, causing the membrane to squeal and rip off. Glaring down at the (now) tinier creature, he brought both claws down as hard as he could, feeling it squish under the blow. Looking down, he watched it re-form, and attempt to grow as large as him. However, this failed, and it screamed angrily at the limitation.

Nikolai snarled in delight, the creature had a limit! Shrinking down again, he reached his usual size. It looked down at him, confused, and it obviously didn't realize that the size he had was useless in a confined space. Leaping onto it's chest, he drove his claws directly into the thing's face, watching it howl and attempt to pull him off. Jumping back, he fled the room (causing the two girls who had been peeking in to flee in the opposite direction) and ran down the hallway, looking back to watch it scream and chase after him, shrinking and attempting to take a copy of his form, failing and resembling some sort of hairless monkey. Diving into a adjacent hallway, he watched it barrel past, and attempt to turn around, only to crash into a wall. The thing was not very good at anything, apparently, as it charged towards him again, Nikolai grinning mockingly before running away, eliciting a even angrier scream.

Taking his chance, he dived into the room he was looking for, labelled 'decontamination' in big bold letters. Unlike the others, this one had thick glass doors, and strange nozzles pointing from the sides of the small room. Watching the creature dive into the room after him, trying to mock his movements, he slipped right by it and slammed the button on the wall, watching the doors seal. A eerie voice played over the intercom, speaking in German."**Entgiftung laufend" **it spoke, repeating several times. In english, it was saying "Decontamination in Progress"

The nozzles hissed, and jets of flame burst from the walls, causing the creature to scream and hiss, banging on the thick glass, attempting to flee the flames. Nikolai watched, mockingly grinning at it, as it's skin turned black and it slowly stopped moving. The voice ceased to talk, and the doors slid open. Approaching the corpse, he kicked it roughly, deciding that he the best. Ever. Of all time.

This was spoiled, however, when the charred black skin burst, revealing a smaller, angrier little monster. It attempted to take it's larger form and failed, obviously the fire had caused it to lose a large portion of it's biomass. It latched onto Nikolai, attacking his chest roughly. As he attempted to pull it off, it took a large chunk of his fur off, revealing bloodied flesh. Howling in pain, he grew again, watching it scream and fall off. Shrinking down, he attempted to kick it back into the room, only to find it grab on and pull him with it. Gripping the side door, he felt his hands press a button.

"**Entgiftung laufend"**

...Shit.

Attempting to break the glass, he found himself staring at the two girls, who were doing just the same. However, he heard the jets that ltitered the walls come to life, and closed his eyes, hoping it would end quickly.

...

...

...

After a few moments, he wondered why he wasn't burning. Opening them,, he realized that nothing was moving. Not Marceline, or the cute flower girl, or the monster behind him, by the still apparent fact that he had legs.

Down the hallway, he spotted someone he did not expect to see; The Librarian. His wizardy robe had changed, resembling the very night sky, and he coughed, before inhaling lightly. He slowly turned the corner, almost like he wasn't sure he was going the right away, and approached the glass, behind the two frantic paused girls.

"You know, i was hoping you wouldn't do this. I really was. But here we are, proving that once again, you defy the web of time. Your too good for your own...well, good. You could have just left it alone, but nooooo...you had to fight it. And now look at you, stuck in there with something that looks like what happens when you leave pudding in the sun." inhale. "But, i can't let you die. You still owe me. That's why, i'll offer you this...solution. It wasn't easy, you know, getting them to agree to allowing you to live, i had to use...quite a few favors But, your important, and no one else will do. So lets rewind time, shall we? Make it count, Doctor. Your tale isn't done...quite yet. Now, where were we, doctor?"

* * *

He felt himself blink, and realized he was back where he was, kicking the creature into the room. This time, he gripped the other side of the room, and held on for dear life. Much to his chagrin, he watched Marceline charge them both, slicing the creatures arm in half, freeing Nikolai. The arm unlatched from his leg, and he tossed it in before pressing the button.

He watched the thing scream and hiss, but this time, it simply turned to ash. He watched the grey particles float about the room for a moment, thinking. He decided he would gloat later.

Turning to the vampire, and the now approaching plant girl, he snarled. "Nikolai said go back. Nikolai said it's dangerous. But no, miss-i-know-everything-because-i-am-dead thought she would make a stupid decision!" He snarled at her, and she flinched before growling back.

"Oh shut it, you chauvinist mutt! I just saved your bacon! You could thank me at least!" she cried, defending herself and the plant girl.

"..." he huffed angrily. "Fine, thank you." he grumbled out, looking away from the two, who both laughed and began to taunt him, claiming various things that made Nikolai's head throb. Grabbing the plant girl lightly, he picked her up bridal style and walked off. "I'll bring her up, gotta find her some clothing first." he said, deeming this a good way to not attempt to claw the vampire.

The girl blushed, once again being carried like a small child. Marceline was about to try to assist, but found herself laughing to hard at the poor girls face.

* * *

Turning a corner and slipping into a room, he put her down gently. Rummaging through the room, he looked up to see her covering herself. He frowned. "Your shy then?...!" he had a idea (a obviously stupid one) and grinned. Pulling the amulet from his fur, he flipped the bat, and rapidly shrunk down to his human form. Looking over, he smiled innocently, concepts of nudity not exactly something he remembered. "Now we are both naked. Better?"

...THUMP!

He looked down at the passed out girl, frowning. Well, that didn't work, he decided. He looked about, finding a officers coat, and slipped it onto her, which she wore more like a dress, as it reached her knee's. Flipping the bat, he grew again and picked her up, carrying her towards the elevator shaft, deciding to say she passed out from stress when Marceline asked.

* * *

**Several Days later...**

Nikolai Huffed, his arms aching from the hard work. He had finished what he and Paggy had been working on for the last three days. Using their combined magic and might, they had created a home. Paggy had used his 'juju' to cause massive roots to take form, creating the walls, and using a mix of strength and magic, they had formed a home roughly two stories tall, containing 5 rooms (Living room, two bedrooms, kitchen, Bathroom) which Nikolai and Lily (the name she had given herself, even after Marceline called it a 'hippy name') would live in. Nikolai had had enough with listening to the couple's mating, and decided he needed a home. After bribing Paggy with a bag of various herbs and plants he had swiped on the way back from the facility, they had went to work, building a home for the two hybrids. She had agreed to live with him, partly because she became sick of the sounds as soon as she heard them, and partly because she enjoyed the company of the large furry man (though she had warned him multiple times about wearing pants). The home had come off nicely, the floors made of cobbled stone covered by a large fluffy carpet (a gift from Grubs, who only asked that he could sleep on the couch if he needed to lay low for a day or two), and the various furniture provided by Choose Goose, the deal being that Nikolai would play music to entice more customers whenever he was nearby.

Sniffling, he smiled at the home, not having his own home for longer then he cared to remember, deciding it was a step up from the drippy cave.

As he was about to compliment the mage on his fine work, a deafening crack was heard, the sound causing Nikolai to stumble and howl in pain. Looking up, they spotted whatever caused it; A angry red blotch in the sky, looking like the very sky had been wounded.

"...Dat does not look like good juju, mon."

* * *

An: And we are done, folks! I may take a day off, i may not, but the next tale will start soon enough!


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